Deputy Isabelle French
by xXSapphirewatersXx
Summary: Isabelle French is the young, smart, and beautiful Deputy to Sheriff Graham in the small town of Storybrooke. When Emma Swan comes into town and the Sheriff offers her a job working with them, what changes will occur, and how long will it take until certain memories of the past start coming back? Strictly Belle/Graham friendship and eventually, Rumbelle.


**Alright, so this isn't my first fic and I promise I'm still working on my other one. I simply had this idea one night that Belle would be a badass cop and I wanted to roll with it. (Also, a cousin of mine helped with a prompt idea) It also surprises me that this hasn't been thought of before, or maybe it has and I just wasn't looking hard enough. Did I expect it to be this long no, but I think it turned out great. Anyways, read on, and I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Isabelle French had a good life. She had a decent job, shared an apartment with her best friend, was loved by nearly everyone in town, even the town's cruel and elusive owner Mr. Gold liked to share a kind word with her now and again, she was believed to love everything and everyone, despite her past, but if there was one thing Isabelle French couldn't tolerate it was someone having too much alcohol. After her mother died and her father turned to it in order to forget, she grew up hating everything to do with it. Which is the reason, she has to wonder why she's standing outside the bar at 9:30 at night about to go in, when she can hear her boss singing, rather badly, inside. Oh, right. That's why. He had promised her he would behave, but when she got a call from Ruby, telling her that he was dancing on tables and encouraging people to join him in singing a duet she had been asked to get involved. Figuring he got into another argument with his lover Regina, a relationship he would never admit too, she walks up the steps and into the establishment.

She steps inside, only to find her boss and Leroy on top of one of the tables and singing a duet with a crowd below them encouraging them on. She knows people get stupid when they're drunk, but really? There had to be a limit, but she supposes she's lucky they're not undressed, yet. "Sheriff Graham, I understand that you are off-duty sir, but I hardly think it's necessary to make sure I'm doing my job, by causing me to be called out." She calls out, causing the room to go quiet.

"Ah, Deputy French, Leroy and I were just having a bit of fun." He slurs surprising her when he manages to get off the table almost gracefully and without falling on his face. "I didn't mean for you to come and have to get me." He steps in front of her and leans on her shoulder for support. He reeks of alcohol.

"Sir how much have you had?" She asks scrunching up her face in disgust and turning to Ruby questionably.

"More then I should've let him have." Ruby admits. "Sorry Izzy I know how you feel about this stuff, but once Leroy started to join him I had to call you."

She sighs and pats her boss's back gently. "It's alright I'll take him home, keep an eye on Leroy though would you?"

"Sure, I'll make sure nothing else happens." Ruby assures her. "I'm sorry again Izzy."

"It's alright; I'll see you at home Ruby." Isabelle turns to leave, supporting Graham as she went.

* * *

"You're a complete dumbass, you know that?" She snaps at him, later in her car. "It's one thing to get drunk, but you're the damn Sheriff of this town, how do you think that looked, or will look by tomorrow?"

"Deputy French, though I understand your anger I'm still your boss." He states almost angrily. "Take me to see Regina."

"There is no way in hell I'm taking you to see your lover, so you two can argue and cause a public disturbance." She snaps and is honestly surprised he's talking to her as if he isn't drunk off his ass. "I'm taking you home so you can sleep this off, considering you're going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow."

"Take me to see Regina." He repeats his order.

"No."

"What if I promise to behave?"

"I'm not letting you into that house so you can bother her and scare Henry."

"Henry never wakes up when I'm over there at night."

"More information then I needed to hear Sir." She argues, knowing he probably didn't mean what she thought, but her imaginative mind already picturing a rather…graphic image.

"Please Deputy." He asks almost pleading. "I really need to speak to her about something before tomorrow."

She thinks about her options for a moment. On one hand She really didn't want to get called out again because of him, and on the other Regina's never liked her, it may almost be worth it to see her face if she showed up with Graham. She sighs knowing she was eventually going to give in if he kept asking. "Alright, I'll take you to Regina, just behave would you? I don't want to have to stop by her house twice tonight."

"Thank you." He finally relaxes and leans back in the passenger's seat.

"You're going to regret this tomorrow, when you have to come in for work at nine." She warns and turns down the street where the mayor lives.

"I'll be in for work tomorrow on time Deputy." He promises.

'But in what kind of condition?' She wonders parking on the side of the road in front of Regina's house and stepping out of the car with him. He gives her an incredulous look. "If you really think I'm letting you go up to the door alone-"

"I don't need your help Deputy." He states walking around the car and nearly tripping over the curb.

She catches him and lets him lean on her for support. "If I just leave here now you may end up falling on the porch and lying there all night." She warns. "I don't want Regina and Henry to come out of the house tomorrow morning to see the Sheriff asleep in front of their house."

"You really are the best Deputy I could have." He says, almost as if he was praising her.

"No, a good Deputy would make sure that you went home, instead of taking you to the person who probably made you go to the bar in the first place."

"Yes, but the best Deputy listens to her boss." He notes, as they make their way onto the porch and the light turns on.

She rings the doorbell. "Try not to talk about things you won't remember in the morning Sir."

He stifles a laugh and stands upright next to her. "Fair point Deputy well said."

She's about to retort when the lights in the house turn on and the door opens to reveal the town's mayor Regina Mills, wearing a robe over what looks like a black nightgown. Her face showed annoyance, but it softened when she saw Graham. "Sheriff Graham, Deputy French, what can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you." Graham tells her, his voice still a bit off, but surprisingly still coherent.

Regina turns to face her. "Has he been drinking?"

"I just got him away from the bar." She responds and holds a hand up to stop her from interrupting. "I already tried to get him to let me take him home, but he insisted on talking to you. If you want me to take him home, just ask."

"No, it's alright." Regina smiles that fake smile Isabelle hates and opens the door further. "Why don't you come in Graham and we can discuss what happened earlier."

He only glares, but finally nods curtly and walks into the house. "Thank you Deputy, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course Sir, try and get some sleep." She gives him a mock salute and turns back to Regina, nodding once. "Good evening Madam Mayor."

"Good evening Deputy French." She responds and turns around to follow Graham inside, before closing the door.

* * *

"You just left him there?" Ruby almost screams at her in the kitchen the next day. Isabelle had gotten off work at six that morning and had met Ruby in the kitchen around noon for lunch, before they both had to go in for work. Ruby was already wearing her waitress uniform and was prepared to run out of the house, whereas Isabelle still had a few hours to get ready.

"What was I supposed to do Ruby? He was so adamant about it, I was afraid if I didn't take him to see Regina he would've fired me." She insists downing her cup of coffee.

"As if Graham could ever fire you," She laughs. "You're great at your job and the two of you are like best friends."

"You think that's why Regina hates me so much?"

"Man, Regina always has a stick up her ass, ever since Emma showed up." She waves it off. "Don't worry about her. Besides, you and Graham are only friends right?"

"I think of him like a brother." Isabelle admits sheepishly. "Though, if you ever tell him that I will kill you."

"Understood."

"Oh yeah, before I forget, do you have your share of the rent for this month? I'll stop by Gold's shop today to give it to him." She asks finishing her sandwich.

"I thought I gave it to you the other-oh wait, no it's in my room hang on." Ruby runs upstairs and returns a few minutes later with a small wad of cash and hands it to her. "Sorry about that, I meant to give it to you and must've forgotten."

"Don't worry about it; I was going to give it to him today anyways." She shrugs and pockets the money. "I swear we're being uncharged for this place."

"You're only realizing this now?" Ruby laughs and returns to her leftovers from last night. "When I talked to Granny about it last week she couldn't believe how little we're paying."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because you're friends with him and he likes you?" She rolls her eyes as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Isabelle is blushing furiously, but manages to keep a straight face. "We're just friends Ruby."

"Oh come on, you were the only one he was ever nice to before Emma came into town, and now that she's here, it's like he's trying to make something up to you."

"He's never done anything to me that he needs to apologize for though."She protests.

"Well don't tell him that, or he'll raise the rent back up to normal. Hell, maybe if you start sleeping with him we won't have to pay at all."

"Ruby!"

"I'm kidding." She laughs. "Besides, if you were going to sleep with him for something like that, you would do it more so for your father. Is he still in trouble with Gold?"

"Yeah," She sighs. "I don't know what else I can do, he's just so bad with money and his drinking habits aren't getting any better."

"You're doing your best Izzy, that's all you can do." She points out. "You can't center your life on helping your father deal with his problems, especially not after what he did to you."

"I know that, and I'm happy with my life, but I just wish that…no never mind it's stupid." She shakes her head and takes a sip of her tea.

"What? Come on Izzy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, it's just…do you ever feel like we're not living our lives? Like this town isn't real and we're not where we belong?" She asks. Ruby simply gives her a blank stare.

"You don't think we belong here?"

"I don't know it's hard to explain."

"Did you get enough sleep last night Izzy?"

She just laughs. "I told you it was stupid, just a thought that hasn't left my head for a few weeks. Like, I keep telling myself I have a good job, great friends, and live in a decent town."

"Which apparently you don't think is real." Ruby jokes.

"Aren't you going to be late if you don't hurry?" She retorts taking another sip of her tea and nodding in the direction of the clock.

"Oh, damn it." She growls grabbing her purse and car keys off the table. "Talk to you later Izzy," she waves back at her, before running out the door.

Laughing to herself Isabelle stands up to drop her plate in the sink, when something on the corner catches her eyes. 'Ruby, you forget this thing far too often.' She sighs inwardly and picks up her friend's phone. 'Guess I'll have to stop by the diner later to give it to her.' Pocketing the device she cleans up her mess and wanders back into her room to count out the money.

* * *

"Afternoon Sheriff, are you feeling alright?" Isabelle asks him walking into the office later. He had his head down on his desk, with a bag of ice on top of it. "I guess not." She tries to hide a smile. "Did you at least take something for that hangover?"

"There isn't really anything to heal a hangover Deputy, you know that." He groans.

"Yes, but there are ways to help ease it up, you know."

"I've had three cups of coffee, burnt toast, and Tylenol." He responds, finally lifting his head up. "Beat me over the head the next time I talk about wanting to go to the bar, that's an order."

"One I will gladly obey Sir." She laughs and sits down at her desk. "Quiet morning I hope?"

"There was a call about Archie's dog Pongo again, but other than that no."

"My god what is with his neighbors and calling us every time Pongo goes into their yard, simply to sniff around? All they have to do is throw something and he'll go running after it, so why do we get a damn call?" She sighs, leaning back in her chair farther then she probably should be.

"You're in a mood this morning, everything alright?" He asks sounding genuinely concerned, as he gets up to get another bag of ice.

"I don't know I've been in a weird mood for weeks." She sighs and tosses him the key to the freezer that had been lying on her desk. She assumes he just tossed it when he got back in and it somehow landed on her desk.

"You want to talk about it?"

"You'll think it's stupid."

"There are a lot of things I find stupid Deputy, but your thoughts and feelings about something isn't one of them." He states pulling out the chair across from her. "Now what is it, what's wrong?"

"Seriously Sir, you're recovering from a hangover; you don't want to listen to me." She almost laughs.

"I do if there's something wrong, now what is it Miss French?"

"Oh, so you're pulling names out now Mr. Stephen Graham?"

He waves his hands in protest. "Understood, we keep names to rank, deal?"

"Deal."

"Now what's wrong Deputy?"

"I…do you ever feel like there's something wrong about this place? Like we don't belong here, or you get the feeling that we used to live different lives?" He just stares at her blankly. "Okay, how about this, do you remember the first time we actually met? After all the crap I put you through and was cleaning up my act? "

"Yes, it was during your senior year of high school." He answers immediately. "I asked you if you wanted to come and work for me as my assistant."

"But do you remember that actually happening, like do you remember being there, or does it feel like a memory that's simply been put in your head?"

He blinks at that and tries to recall that day. "I…I can't. I remember asking you to work for me, but I don't recall actually doing it."

"See, doesn't it feel wrong?"

"It…it does, come to think of it, there are a lot of memories I have, but don't actually remember." He admits and shakes his head. "Then again I'm also recovering from a hangover."

"Yeah, maybe this wasn't the best time to talk to you about this." She laughs. "For the record I did tell you from the beginning that talking to you about this in your condition wasn't the best idea."

"You did, I'm sorry."

"So dropping that, did anything else of interest happen this morning?"

"Um, yes and don't get mad at me." He stands up and starts pacing. "I know I should've talked to you first, but after the David Nolan incident I just found myself asking her."

"Asking who what?" She asks suddenly concerned. "Please tell me you didn't ask Regina to do something for us. You know that woman is a pain to work with."

"No not her, Emma Swan. I caught her this morning and asked if she wanted to join us." He admits nervously.

He looks so scared that she ends up bursting out in laughter. "Sir, you're the boss around here. If you want to hire somebody else that's up to you. However, if you're planning on getting rid of me I'm going to get pissed."

"Gods no, I still need you." He states. "This doesn't leave the office, but I will never get rid of you. Who else is going to come find me at two in the morning somewhere in the forest?"

"You tell me to never bring it up again and here you are. That was one time you were drunk off your ass more so then even last night." She laughs. His lips perk up in a kind of half smile, as if agreeing with her assessment. "If it helps Sheriff I'd never leave you. I've never really had much of a male influence and…you're like an older brother to me and I just want to thank you."

He just smiles warmly at her and gestures for her to stand up. "Come here." He walks back over to her and pulls her in for a hug. It feels awkward for a moment, but that feeling passes quickly when she wraps her arms around him tightly and hugs him back, burying her face in his chest.

"This doesn't leave the office either." She murmurs.

"I don't know I may take a picture as proof that this happened." He jokes actually pulling out his phone. Before he manages to find the camera on it she punches him hard in the chest and they end up laughing instead, with his phone somehow in her hand.

"Well isn't this adorable." They both jump apart quickly at hearing Regina's voice at the door and turn to see her leaning against the wall. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything Graham."

"Not at all Regina," He replies, as Isabelle tosses him back his phone and sits back down in her chair. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you…alone." She asks.

Taking the hint Isabelle stands up again and grabs her things. "It's alright I was just about to head out and do a patrol around town. I'll be back in about an hour Sir, if that's okay."

"Yes, thank you Deputy. I'll see you back here in a little while." She smiles and nods to the two of them curtly, before leaving the room.

* * *

"Mr. Gold." Isabelle calls out later seeing him coming out of his shop, after she delivered Ruby back her phone.

An older looking man wearing a three piece suit turns around and gives her a warm smile, as she finally reaches him. "Ah, Miss French what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to come and give you-oh my god what happened to your head?" She asks seeing the gash across his forehead and walking closer over to him to see how bad it was.

"It's nothing Miss French; I simply tripped and hit my head in my shop." He tries assuring her, but allows her to reach up and check it for herself.

"You need to be more careful." She sighs and pulls away.

"Yes, I'll be sure to watch where I step from now on." He promises. "Now, was there something you wanted to tell me Miss French?"

"Ah, yes." She moves a strand of hair out of her face and reaches into her bag. "I have to work late again tonight and Ruby has a date and won't be home until probably morning, so I wanted to give you the rent money now." She hands him the wad of cash. "Also, I'll have that book you lent me back to you by the end of the week."

"Take your time with the book Miss French, as for the rent thank you; I'll be sure to check your place off." He smiles at her in a way that she didn't know whether to run away from him, or blush.

Her conversation with Ruby earlier comes to mind and she mentally shakes her head, when she realizes he's waiting for her to respond. "Thank you, I would've been closer to finishing it last night had it not been for-"She stops, not sure whether she should go any further.

"Yes, I heard Sheriff Graham and Leroy made quiet the singing duo last night." He comments pocketing the money and turning back around to lock the door of his shop.

She groans. "Damn it, how do know about that?"

"I assume the whole town knows about it by now, are the rumors of you dragging him out the truth as well?" He asks, almost humorously, turning back around to face her.

"I'm afraid it is." She sighs.

"I'm sorry; I know your low tolerance for alcohol."

"It's not that I mind the alcohol itself." She protests. "Look, I understand people's need to drink. I really do. If it helps them and they don't go completely overboard fine, good on them. It's when they get completely wasted and act like fucktards that I can't stand."

"So last night's incident?"

"Is high on my list for nights I'm not going to let him forget easily." She states.

He laughs. "That's good to know."

"Yes, well I should get going I promised the Sheriff I would patrol the town and I should probably be doing that." She smiles warmly and waves, intending to turn away from him.

"Yes, and I should be moving along, thank you again Miss French." He calls after her, as she moves away and intends to cross the street, back over to her police car.

She was busy arguing with herself about wanting to go back and talk to him some more, or doing the sensible thing and going back to work, after all it's not like she was on a break. She was supposed to be patrolling the town, but talking to a citizen could be considered doing her job right?

She was about to step onto the street when she hears his voice call out in panic. "Belle!"

Unsure whether he was talking to her she stops and is about to turn around when a car whizzes past her, causing her to fall over. "The hell-?" She almost screams. Her heart is racing so fast that she starts shaking.

She hears the sound of his cane coming up behind her. "Miss French, are you alright?" His voice is shaky, almost like he's too scared to ask.

She finds she can't help herself when she stands up and throws her arms around his neck, not caring who saw or what his reaction would be. "I…I'm fine, thank you so much."

"You're shaking." He comments.

"You would be too if you almost got hit by a car." She laughs and finally lets go of him. "…You called me Belle." She notes and catches the slightest flicker of pain in his eyes.

"Forgive me, I panicked and found Miss French to be too long to call out." He almost laughs. "Though, I'm surprised you responded."

"Well, who else would you have been calling out too?" She asks, trying to hide her blush, She would never admit that when he called out, she was hoping he was trying to get her attention.

"Fair point," He notes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, though when I find out who owns that car I'm giving them a piece of my mind." She states.

He actually laughs at that. "There isn't a doubt in my mind."

"Well anyways, the Sheriff is probably wondering where I am. I should get going. Thank you again."

'It was no trouble Miss French, I'm just glad you're alright." He insists. She makes a move to walk off of the curb again, this time making sure to look both ways, and almost falls. She was still shaking too much from fright. "Miss French, do you need some help?"

"I'm fine."

"Miss French, please at least let me make sure that you get to your car safely."

"I-"

"It's either that, or I'm calling Sheriff Graham to pick you up."

She sighs. "You're not going to let me go are you?" She takes note of the expression on his face; then again he always looks like that. "Come on then." She hooks her hand in the crook of his arm and they step off the curb and across the street to her car. "I feel a bit ridiculous." She admits.

"Come now, if anything it looks like you're doing your job and helping me across the street." He jokes.

"That's not what I meant, and besides if anyone asks you'll just deny this ever happened." She laughs unlocking the door to her car as they reached it.

"If they're implying something other than two people crossing the street then yes, I would deny it."

"You would." She jokes and smiles warmly. "Anyways, can I drive you somewhere? It'd be the least I can do?"

"That's alright; my car is parked right around the corner. Besides, I'm sure Sheriff Graham is wondering where you are." He points out and moves onto the curb to get out of her way. "Thank you anyways."

"I should be the one thanking you, but you're right I should get going. I'll talk to you later?"

"I would hope so, you still have my book." He states.

She smiles warmly at him once more before getting into her car and driving off.

* * *

"Wow you're almost twenty minutes late Deputy, something hold you up?" Graham asks her, as she walks back into the office. She turns to see Leroy in one of the cells.

"Never mind that, what did you do this time Leroy?" She asks ignoring her boss and sitting down on the bench near the cell he was being held in.

"I got into a little argument at work." He replies gruffly. Even Leroy found it hard to dislike Isabelle.

"Yes and if you promise to behave I'll let you out." Graham walks over to the two of them, with the keys swinging from his hand.

"Or he could just promise to sing another duet with you again sometime." Isabelle murmurs. They both hear her and Leroy actually manages a laugh.

"Deputy I'm sorry about last night, I really am." He insists almost pleadingly.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you forget if for a really long time." She grins and gets up, stealing the keys from his hand and turning back to the cell. "I'm going to ask you to apologize to me too Leroy. Do that and I'll let you out."

"Deputy," Graham protests, but Isabelle stands up on the bench so he couldn't reach the keys.

"Deputy Isabelle French, I'm sorry for what happened last night." Leroy tells her honestly. The whole town knows about her low tolerance for people who act stupid when drunk and he didn't want to push it.

She smiles and jumps back down, somehow avoiding Graham in the process, and opens his cell door. "Thank you, you're free to go Leroy."

He looks at the Sheriff, who only sighs and nods. "Go ahead, I'm not about to argue with her decision." Leroy takes one more look at the two of them and leaves the room.

"Oh don't give me that look." She protests handing him back his keys, as he glares at her. "I know you only put him in there to cool down. It's not like he would intentionally hurt someone." She moves back over to sit at her desk.

"You're still in a weird mood, what's up now?" He asks sitting on the edge of her desk.

"Well Gold saved my ass from being hit by a car going too damn fast down Main Street." She admits, unlocking a drawer under her desk and looking for a file.

"Wait, you almost got hit by a car? And Gold saved you?" he asks in disbelief. "I thought you were patrolling?"

"I was for about forty minutes, don't get mad, but I stopped by Granny's to give Ruby her phone that she left on the counter earlier. After that I decided to stop by Mr. Gold's shop to give him the rent, since neither of us will be home tonight when he comes to get it. We talked for a bit and when I went to cross the street I stupidly didn't see the car coming and he called out my name to stop me from crossing." She explains, finding the file she was looking for.

He just stares at her. "Wow, I'm surprised he said anything at all."

"Sheriff, I doubt even Mr. Gold wants to see someone get hit by a car." She snaps.

"Are we talking about the same guy here, or are you still not over your old high school crush?" He laughs.

She swats him with the file. "I'm twenty-four years old."

"No you're right, it's gotten even worse. Now you're friends with him and find some excuse to talk to him every day." He jokes. "Face it Deputy, it's been almost five years, you'll never be over him."

She hits him again with the file and leans back in her chair. "Yet, you and Ruby never berate me for it." She notes.

"Why should we?" He shrugs. "It's your life and you never say anything about our relationships, even though Ruby's had more than she can even recall and mine…well you know my situation."

She has to bite her lip in order to not say anything. "Yes, what did Regina want earlier anyways? She's not still jealous of me is she?" She inquires, honestly curious.

"Well that was one thing that was brought up." He admits.

She sighs. "Why can't she realize that there is nothing going on between us? I trust you with my life Sir, but that's it. I feel nothing for you except for brotherly affection."

"And I keep trying to tell her that, but that's apparently still debatable."

"She can't fire me can she?" She wonders aloud.

"Of course she can't, not while I'm still around." He assures her.

"I feel so relieved." She jokes. "So was that really all she wanted? What did I ever do to make her hate me so much?"

He groans. "I don't know, but no, you weren't the only reason she showed up. She wanted to talk to me about Emma Swan again. I understand that having the birth mother of your kid is stressful, but I can't arrest her for every little thing she does."

"Regina will do everything she can to prove that she has power in this town. In which case, I never did ask you, did Emma accept the job with us?"

"He shakes his head. "Not yet, but I'm sure she'll come around."

"And you're so sure about this are you?" She asks. He's about to respond when his cell phone goes off. When he steps into his office to take the call she finally opens the file, only to hit a dead end. '_Damn I thought for sure that car was the Tanner's, maybe it's a car on the same street though.' _She thinks closing it up, just as Graham steps back out with his stupid puppy grin. She only raises her eyebrows questionably.

"That was Emma Swan agreeing to come and work with us."

"Wow that was a fast decision." She notes. "When are you going to have her start?"

"First thing tomorrow morning," He tells her. "That is, if you don't mind sharing your desk with her?"

"It's your decision Sir, and it's my job to listen and do what you tell me."

"Good, then listen to this one. Try not and get into an argument with her on the first day."

"Now why would I do that? I've never even met this woman." She points out. "But I'll try my best to behave as you would want me to Sir. Though, I do hope you've at least told her about me."

"Of course she already knows about you, how else would she know about the person who dragged my ass out of the bar last night?" He grins.

She laughs at that and shakes her head, as he went back into his office and she pulls out another file. _'Well tomorrow's going to be interesting to say in the least.'_

* * *

The next morning Isabelle drags herself out of her car to see a blonde woman, she assumes is Emma Swan, waiting outside the locked police station. "Good morning." She smiles and holds out her hand when she reaches the woman. "I don't think we've met, I'm Deputy Isabelle French."

"Emma Swan." The woman shakes her hand firmly. "Never thought I'd get the chance to say I'm early for work."

Isabelle laughs. "Actually you're just on time; it's the Sheriff that's always late." Unlocking the door and gesturing for her to go inside first. "I would talk to him about it, but he always has some damned excuse."

"And what are we talking about now Deputy French?" Graham's voice suddenly comes up behind the two of them.

Emma jumps slightly, but Isabelle is used to his behavior. "The fact you end up late wherever you're going Sir." She answers, as they walk into the main office."

"I'm never late; you're just always too early Deputy." He retorts and walks into his office, as she sits down in her chair. She gestures to Emma as if saying, 'I told you so.'

Emma looks from Graham to Isabelle. "Oh, so you two have that kind of relationship."

"And what kind of relationship would that be Emma?" Graham asks walking out of his office with an extra uniform Isabelle never realized they had.

"You call one another only by rank." She notes.

Isabelle shrugs. "I've worked with this lug for almost five years, when you start out calling him Sheriff it's hard to break the habit."

"Same with calling her Deputy French, we're close friends; it's just hard to break habit." He agrees and hands the outfit to her. "Now I think it's time you go and change into your new uniform."

Emma looks at him incredulously. "A tie, you know you don't have to dress a woman as a man in order to give her authority."

He crosses his arm in a matter that Isabelle already knows he's going to lose this argument. "So, you think you can get people to do what you want in that red coat?" He asks.

She hands the uniform back to him and grins slyly. "I'm getting you to do what I want, right now."

Isabelle couldn't help but laugh. "Oh Sheriff, you now have to hard-headed woman working for you. I'll be surprised if you last until the end of the week."

"I got you to start wearing the uniform." He argues weakly.

"Only because the town didn't believe I was working for you so soon after high school. My first day on the job people just thought I was a girl pretending to be a cop. I was only twenty."

"Yes, you also felt the need to bash what's his name's head into a wall."

"That bastard had it coming and you know it." She snaps.

Emma looks from one to the other in confusion. "Isabelle's ex-fiancé," Graham finally informs her; since it was clear Isabelle wasn't going to do it.

She turns back to Isabelle, "Bad breakup?"

Isabelle laughs. "I wish it was that simple. No, I caught him with another woman and found out that he had been cheating on me with the Martin triplets, Molly, Polly, and Holly."

"How bad was the catch?"

"Caught him in the act, got a call about a public disturbance, stepped into the house and there they were, getting busy in the living room." She waves it off. "I don't think it would've been that bad if he would've just admitted it and stopped trying to apologize and tell me how wrong he was. I already knew how wrong he was, I didn't need him telling me that."

"Or having him apologize like an idiot, here in the office." Graham murmurs.

"I told you I was sorry about that, but when he walked in I just finally snapped."

"Yes, and you slammed his head into the wall." Graham adds, "While I watched from my office."

"I told you I was sorry."

"From what I gather the guy deserved it." Emma just laughs. "Good on you Isabelle."

"I didn't say he didn't deserve it, all I'm saying is I wish she had chosen a better location to finally snap." He sighs, "At least not in my presence. I wouldn't have had to arrest you."

"You only locked me up for an hour, at most."

He only shakes his head and turns back to hand Emma a badge. "Look, if you aren't going to wear the uniform, at least start wearing the badge."

She takes it and reads, "Co-Deputy."

"Don't worry too much about it, most likely he'll call you by your first name when he needs one of us and the rest of the town will probably do the same." Isabelle assures her. "That or they'll call you Deputy Swan."

"Are you alright with this Isabelle?" She asks honestly. "I don't want to make it look like I'm taking your job away from you."

"Don't worry about it Emma. Besides, there have been days were I've complained to Sheriff Graham that we need help. This town gets into a lot more trouble than you would think." She assures her.

"It's funny, I actually don't doubt that." She laughs and clips the badge to her belt. At around the same moment the place starts shaking violently and the three of them grab a hold of something. After a few minutes the room stops shaking.

"What the hell was that?" Isabelle asks standing up and thankful she was sitting in her chair when it happened.

"Earthquake, but where do you think it was?" Graham wonders and looks to Isabelle, who had the exact same thought, "The mines?"

"No other place in town could have caused that and you know the mines have been shaky for years." She points out. "We stopped people from going near there years ago."

"Right, Deputy come with me down to the mines and Emma, why don't you check with the people in town to make sure everything's alright?" He orders.

"No way, I'll check to make sure the town is alright. Emma doesn't know the people well enough yet, take her with you." She suggests. "Besides, I don't want to deal with Regina and this'll be a good chance to let her know that Emma is now a part of this town."

He stares at her, "Fair point. Emma, come with me we'll leave the town to Deputy French." He grabs his jacket and keys before disappearing out the door.

Emma turns to her and gives her a gracious smile. "Thank you."

She shrugs and grabs her jacket off her chair. "I figured one of the reasons you joined us was to prove something to the mayor, so here's a good chance to throw it in her face." She winks. "Now go show her what you can do." They follow Graham out of the building.

* * *

"Is everything alright here Granny?" Isabelle asks later walking into Granny's, after checking most of the town. There didn't appear to be any casualties. She moves to sit at the bar, placing her radio on the counter.

"A bit shaken up, but other than that everything's fine here." She replies getting out a cup and pouring her some coffee. "Shouldn't you be out at the mines with the Sheriff?"

"I think Sheriff Graham and Miss Swan can handle the crowds from here. I just want to make sure the rest of the town is alright." She smiles and thanks her.

"What is Miss Swan doing?"

"Oh, the Sheriff thought we needed some help, so he hired her to be our new Co-Deputy." She replies and takes a sip, welcoming the bitter taste.

"Is he allowed to do that?"

"Well it's too late to do anything about it now and it'll be nice to have some help."

"Yes, because you two had such a hard time doing it on your own for five years." She jokes.

"Hey, anything to piss the mayor off is alright with me." She smiles. "And yes Sidney, feel free to put that in the paper. Regina already knows how I feel about her." The man in the back booth suddenly jumps at being directed. She snickers and turns back to Granny. "Anyways, have you seen Ruby? She wasn't at the apartment this morning and I keep trying to call her cell, but she isn't picking up."

"Worried she got hurt?" Someone asks at the end of the bar.

"Well yeah, if something happened to her who else is going to pay the other half of our rent?" she jokes. "Or are you offering to share the apartment with me William?" He shakes his head. "That's a shame I'm sure some of Ruby's clothes would look great on you."

Even Granny laughs at that. "Oh girl this town would be boring without you."

"I love you too Granny." Knowing that was Granny's way of giving her affection. Seeing as Granny was like a mother to her, in her own way.

"Ruby checked in with me this morning and asked if she could go see what happened." She explains. "Most likely she's still up there with everyone else."

"Thanks, that's good to know. Anyways, I should get going and please don't tell Ruby I talked about her like she's only useful to me for the rent." She stands up. "You know I love her dearly."

"I know that, don't worry." She smiles and waves as Isabelle makes her way out the door.

* * *

"Ah, Miss French everything alright down at the mines I hope?" Mr. Gold asks her later when he runs into her down by the dock.

"I haven't gotten a call asking for help, so I assume so." She laughs sitting down on the bench and gesturing for him to sit down with her."Though, most likely Regina is having them block it off."

"That wouldn't surprise me in the slightest." He smirks and sits down on the spot next to her. "I've also heard that he's hired Miss Swan to work for the two of you."

"Your knowledge of the gossip in this town is astounding." She shakes her head in disbelief.

"The mayor has her people, just as I have mine Miss French."

"You're both pains in the ass you know that?" Just try and stay out of trouble for awhile would you?" She sighs and leans down to dig through her bag.

"I'll make no promises there Miss French." He almost smiles.

"Yeah well, can't say I didn't try." She shrugs and takes out a book. "Also, last night was slow. I finally managed to finish this book you let me borrow." He takes it from her. She feels her cheeks heat up when their fingers brush slightly, and curses softly. She's a grown woman and shouldn't be acting like a love struck teenager.

"Thank you Miss French." He smiles and she almost misses his next question. "Am I to assume that I will see you in my shop again soon to borrow another one?"

"I'm never one without a book on hand."

"Honestly, I should start charging you to borrow them."

"You should, but you never will." She points out and he smirks in such a way that she knows he's agreeing with her. They sit in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, until he sees a car pass by on the other side.

"You ever find out who owns that car from yesterday?" He inquires.

"Not yet, and I looked through all our files to see if it belonged to someone we've stopped before, but nothing matched." She groans and leans back against the bench.

"It could be a new car?"

"It could be, maybe I should do another patrol around town to see if I find it anywhere. Actually, I was going to do that this morning but with the mines collapsing I forgot."

"What are you going to do when you find the person who was driving?"

She turns away from staring at the sky in order to look at him. "I don't know." She replies honestly. "I mostly want to know what the hell they were doing. It wasn't like I was coming out from behind a car. I was very much visible, yet they didn't bother to honk their horn or anything."

"You think they were trying to hit you deliberately?"

She sighs. "I don't know, maybe? I am a cop. There's always the possibility someone wants me dead and I know there are people in this town that probably wish it were so."

"You know people who want you dead?"

The venom dripping from his voice scares her, but he wasn't the most feared and powerful man for nothing. "Not dead, just…out of the picture. I know the mayor wants to break me from my brotherly like ties with the Sheriff. My ex might also want me to be punished, but I don't think they want me dead." She states. "Murder shouldn't have to be an option."

She hears him laugh. "You are definitely still Belle."

She notes that that's the second time he's called her by that name and is about to ask about it when her radio starts going off. "Sorry." She apologizes to him and unhooks it from her belt. "What is it Sheriff?" She makes out a few words such as 'Regina, Henry, trying to calm her down.' "Sheriff Graham sir, I can't understand what you're trying to tell me speak up, or change your radio settings."

She hears Mr. Gold chuckle quietly beside her and is about to join him when Graham's voice finally comes through. "Henry and Dr. Hopper are trapped somewhere in the mines and we have no way of getting them out. I need you to go and get Billy so we can move some of this rubble out of the way."

"Talk to Billy and have him bring his tow truck got it." She clicks off, knowing he wouldn't have anything else to tell her. "Seems there's some trouble at the mines, sorry but I have to get going."

"I'm surprised." He stands up with her. "He tells you young Henry is trapped in the mines and you don't seem all that worried, or demanding him to tell you what happened."

"Right here no, but once I'm at the mines I want to know what the hell is going on and how a ten year old kid, and his therapist, ended up trapped in there." She almost snaps.

"Well I wish you luck and feel free to come to my shop anytime." He starts wandering off and waves once.

"I will, and thanks." She calls after him, before heading in the direction of her car.

* * *

A half an hour passes and Isabelle finally shows up in her car with Billy and his tow truck coming up behind her. It looked like the whole town had suddenly shown up to try and help. "Sheriff, what the hell happened?" She asks, as he and Emma walk up to her.

"Henry and Dr. Hopper are still trapped down in the mines." He informs her and puts his hands up to stop her from speaking. "And before you ask, Henry ran out from Dr. Hopper's office and came up here on his own."

"Then Archie and I came up here to find him and when he realized Henry was inside he went in. At around that time the entrance collapsed." Emma fills in.

"Why would Henry go in there in the first place?"

"We don't know, but the situation's gotten worse. We tried blowing the entrance up to no avail."

"You realize that was probably more dangerous to the two of them inside them simply trying to remove the rubble?" She sighs wondering who's idea that was, as they walk down to the site.

"Well maybe if we find out where they are we can-"

"No way in hell. Blowing the place up once was enough, if you do it again and the whole place could collapse." She interrupts Richard, who, she assumed, had brought the explosives in the first place. "However, it would be easier to figure something out if we knew where they currently are."

Emma, who had been trying to think of something to do, sees Pongo, Archie's Dalmatian, trying desperately to get out of the fire truck. '_Who else better to find them?' _She realizes and hurries to let him out. When released from the truck Pongo immediately runs off sniffing the ground as he went and stops. Those who followed him start digging and find an old hatch.

"Well, my guess is we'll find them down there." Graham sighs, as a couple of people help to open it. "If I control the crane from up here, we can have someone lifted down to get them out of there."

"I'll go down." Regina offers, already taking off her coat.

"No offense Regina, but you're not exactly…prepared to do something like this." Graham tells her, almost nervously and turns to Isabelle. "Deputy, I want you to go down."

"I…I would advise against it Sir." She states, almost pleading for him to remember her fear of closed spaces and dark caves. "If I go down there, I'm afraid you'll have three people stuck."

"Deputy, what are you-oh." He realizes. "Right, sorry."

"I'll do it." Emma comes over and takes off her jacket.

"Well that's settled." Isabelle states, before either Regina or Graham can protest. "Be careful, and bring them back up here safely."

"I'll do my best." She promises, as Graham simply shrugs and hooks her up.

"Better hurry, this place could collapse at any time." Another resident warns.

"Thank you, that's comforting." Isabelle snaps at him, as Emma is lowered down. No one says a word after Emma disappears and it's a tense twenty minutes, until the ground shakes again and they realize something just collapsed. Isabelle could see that Regina was almost at her breaking point and she was about to move over to stand beside her, when she sees Emma coming back up. She quickly moves over with the others to help the three of them out. _'Thank the gods.' _She breathes a sigh of relief and shares a glance with Graham.

About another hour later they have the place cleaned up and most people have already returned home. Isabelle finishes taping off another section and returns to where a few people were still celebrating. "Izzy," Ruby runs up to her and hands her, what she hopes is water, and throws her arms around her. "Great job today, but I'm heading home. Do you still want to do girl's night?"

"Yeah, I've just got to finish some things up here and I'll meet you back at home okay?" She takes a drink and finding it to be punch, as Ruby finally releases her.

"Kay, I'm going to pick some things up on the way home and I'll see you there." She smiles warmly and runs off to catch a ride back with Billy.

Isabelle only laughs and shakes her head, as they drive off and turns back around to look for Graham. Her eyes catch Regina standing alone and dropping what looks like a piece of glass. _'Today must've really stressed her out.' _Isabelle wasn't fond of Regina and she knew that their mayor wasn't too fond of her either, but no one deserved to almost lose their son. Knowing there was a chance that she was going to regret this she goes up to the group celebrating and grabs a cup of punch. Taking quick breath she walks over to Regina. "You look like you could use a drink." She smiles, as Regina turns around. "Sorry it's nothing stronger."

Regina almost smiles and takes the cup from her. "Thank you Miss French."

"I'm sorry about today, is Henry alright?" She asks turning around to see Emma and Henry sitting on top of the hill and looking like they were discussing something.

"So it would seem." She runs her fingers along the rim of the cup and stares at the two of them.

"I haven't poisoned your drink you know." Isabelle laughs taking a sip of her own. Regina continues watching Emma and Henry. "I'm sorry for asking so soon, but did Henry ever tell you why he went down there?"

She sighs at that. "No he didn't, but I assure you he won't be doing it again."

"After the fright he had today? I would hope not." She smiles. "Regina, despite everything with the rest of the town, you are a good mother to him."

Regina actually turns to look at her and genuinely smiles. "Thank you Miss French." She finally takes a drink of the sweet drink and returns quickly to her usual demeanor. "You should go find Graham and see if he needs you to do anything else, since your new employee seems busy."

"Yes ma'am." She nods and walks away. _'Well that wasn't as bad as I thought.' _She laughs inwardly and finally spots Graham throwing some equipment into the back of someone's truck. "Sheriff I'm clocking out, but if you need me tonight you know my number."

"Is it girl's night with Ruby again?" He asks walking back over to her and she hands him her barely touched cup, which he takes gratefully and swallows.

"Yep, I'll see you tomorrow morning." She smiles and turns around to head off.

"Have fun." He calls after her, before going back to packing the truck.

* * *

Almost forty-five minutes later she's finally stepping into her apartment and sees Ruby already in her pajama's with blankets and pillows on the floor in the living room, along with a bowl of pretzels and chocolate candies. "There you are. Did Graham keep you busy?" She asks.

"Regina actually," She sighs. "Just let me go change, I'll be out in a minute."

"Kay, but hurry I'm starting the movie." Ruby calls after her, as she disappears into her room.

"I see you're still on a Ryan Gosling kick." Isabelle laughs, as she lies down with Ruby a few minutes later and sees her movie selection, all which have the actor in it. "Which one are we watching now?" She asks grabbing a handful of pretzels.

"Blue Valentine and it's not my fault he's hot and my roommate is more into older guys." She retorts, but with a hint of playfulness.

She flicks a pretzel at her. "Can we please go through one girl's night without bringing up my crush on Gold?"

"Afraid not," She laughs and throws a handful of candy at her. "I respect your wishes to not have any alcoholic drinks in the house, so you have to suffer my teasing."

"Yes, I really don't thank you enough for that Ruby."

"Don't mention it. I've seen your father drunk at the bar and it's not pretty, I can only imagine what you suffered with at home." She waves off her apology. "Your low tolerance for the stuff is understandable."

"Thank you Ruby."

"But you still have to suffer my teasing because of it." She grins wolfishly. "So, did you find another excuse to talk to him today?"

She sighs at her friend's curiosity. "Yes, I finished the book he let me borrow and I returned it to him over by the docks. We sat down and started talking, until the Sheriff called me up to the mines."

"Damn it Graham, he should've just asked me to call Billy up."

"You came up with Billy." Isabelle points out. "Speaking of which, what happened to your car?"

"…Ashley needed it yesterday in order to get out of town, and ended up crashing it just before the town line." She explains, avoiding her glance.

"Ashley…oh, the one who's pregnant and sold the baby to Gold?" She inquires never quite understanding that deal, but knowing better then to get involved. "What on earth was she doing trying to leave town?"

"She was trying to run away from Gold." She shrugs. "But when she reached the town line she went into labor. Emma found her and brought her back to the hospital. Emma apparently made a deal with Gold and Ashley was able to keep her baby."

"Is she ready to take care of a baby?" Isabelle asks honestly.

"I hope so, but Shawn finally grew a pair and stood up to his father. He went to go make up with her at the hospital and be a father to his own kid."

"Well, I wish them both the best of luck." She takes another handful of pretzels and eats one. "Anyways, so you're getting your car fixed I hope?"

"Yeah, Billy knows the people down at the garage and are working on it. Should be ready again tomorrow, or the next few days, so for now I'm just going to have to walk, it's no big deal."

"If you're sure," She shrugs and turns back to the movie.

The next morning Isabelle wakes up on the floor covered with the blankets from the night before. She rolls over to find Ruby still asleep, with her arm thrown over her own waist. _'Looks like Ruby tried to cuddle with me again last night.'_ She giggles and tries to get up without disturbing her. Ruby stirs, but simply rolls over again and continues to snore softly. Smiling Isabelle throws another blanket over her to keep her warm and wanders into the bathroom to take a shower before work.

* * *

"Afternoon Emma, is something wrong?" Isabelle asks walking into the office around one and finding Emma leaning against the desk, her elbow on the desk and head resting on her hand.

"No, it's more like…trouble at the apartment."

"Well I hope it's not too serious." She smiles warmly and sits down in the chair opposite of her.

"You've dealt with a few shitty relationships right? So you can probably help her more than I ever could." Isabelle only nods. "Can I tell you something and ask you to keep it a secret?"

"Of course," She promises. _'After all I'm still keeping quiet about Graham and the mayor, how hard can it be to keep another one?' _

"…Mary Margret obviously has a huge crush on the guy David Nolan, you know the one who woke up at the hospital a few weeks ago?" Isabelle nods again and stands up to get a file from Graham's office. "Okay, so here's the problem. He's married and she keeps getting closer to him. She knows it's wrong, but can't seem to stop wanting to see him."

"If you know you like him, or worse, if you know you're in love with him it's the hardest thing to give up." She notes getting the file she needs to finish and returning to her desk. "But if you know something is wrong, then it probably is. All I can suggest is trying to stay away from him, but if that doesn't work try and remember that he's a married man and doesn't feel the same way."

"That's the problem though; she thinks he does feel the same way."

"Oh, that isn't good." She groans, falling back into her chair and putting her legs up on the desk. "Then give him an ultimatum and force him to choose. Though, if a guy likes two women he should always choose the second one."

"Why's that?"

"If he was truly happy and in love with the first one, he wouldn't have fallen in love with the second." She points out and grabs a pen out of her cup.

Emma laughs. "That's not bad."

"What's not bad?" Graham asks, finally walking into the room.

"Some good advice you missed because you're late." Isabelle smiles at him. He only pouts and gives her a look. "Good afternoon Sheriff."

"Good afternoon you two," He wanders over and forcefully pushes her feet off the desk. "I told you before Deputy, no feet on the desk."

"What is this, high school?" She asks, but keeps her feet grounded anyways. "Also, I told you I wasn't done with this report yet." She holds up the file, as he walks into his office.

"I think if you read it over you'll find that Emma finished it last night, before she went home." He walks back over to them and plucks it from her grasp. "After all it was about the mines and I did ask you to check over the town. I assume you have that report ready?" He asks.

She blinks. "Yeah, it's in my desk. Emma, could you move so I can open the drawer?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah sorry," She gets up and Isabelle gets the key out of pocket to unlock the drawer. She grabs the file and hands it to him. "There weren't any causalities, just a lot of people shaken up."

"Glad to hear that." He comments skimming through it.

"A lot of people however, want to know what caused the mine to collapse in the first place."

"They're old." He shrugs. "Surely they were bound to do this at some point. Let's just be glad no one got hurt. Speaking of which, Emma, did you talk to Dr. Hopper?"

"Yes I did, he's feeling a lot better and only suffered minor injuries." She replies, as Isabelle closes the drawer up again and Emma moves back over to sit down.

"I'm glad to hear that." Somehow both Graham and Isabelle say in unison.

They all laugh and Isabelle grabs her keys. "Alright, I'm off to do a patrol of the town."

"Have fun." Graham calls after her, before turning back to talk to Emma.

'_Huh, those two do look good together.' _She thinks remembering something Ruby mentioned to her the night before. Shaking her head she closes the door and walks out of the building.

* * *

About twenty-five minutes later Isabelle is parked along a curb and watches the car she just gave a ticket to drive off. _'That'll teach those damn punks not to get lippy with me.' _ She growls inwardly. _'Of course your father will pay the ticket, but the next time don't act as if you're above the law.' _ She gets back into her car and drives down a road she rarely takes.

She's about to pull onto the main road, when something catches her eye that causes her to stop. It was the car that almost hit her, she was sure of it. Parked in the garage of a house she was unfamiliar with. _'Well, I knew I'd find the owner eventually.' _She parks her car across the street and walks up the steps of the two stories home. She rings the doorbell and hears the sound of someone coming down the stairs. _'I hope it's not another rich, arrogant fool.' _She wonders, being reminded of the kid she just stopped. The door opens. "Hello I'm here to talk about-Michael?" She almost gapes, recognizing the guy in front of her as her ex fiancé.

"Ah, hello Izzy won't you come in?" He offers moving out of the way.

"No way in hell." She states. "If it's all the same to you I'd rather talk out here."

He shrugs. "Alright fine, hang on then." He disappears into the house a moment and comes back out with a rose. "Will you at least accept this?"

"I swear to the gods, if this is another apology attempt." She snaps.

"Of course it isn't. A guy can't simply give a rose to a woman he finds beautiful?" He asks innocently and holds the flower out to her.

'_This is exactly the same crap he pulled on me in high school. It's no wonder I accepted his damn proposal.' _She notes and takes the rose from him. _'It is a very pretty rose though.'_ She brings it up to her face and takes a whiff.

"Now, was there something you wanted to ask me?" He asks leaning against the door and crossing his arms and legs in the way she used to hate.

"Yes, I wanted to ask if you were the one driving that car, in the garage, down Main Street a f…a few day…s" She blinks hard and had to lean against the porch to keep her balance. Her head was getting fuzzy and her voice slurred. "Th…e hell did you-?" She sees him grin once and her world goes black.

* * *

She wakes up staring at what looks like a wedding arch. In fact wherever she was, it looked like it was fashioned to do weddings. She tries to move and realizes her hands are tied together by a rope, behind a small pillar and that she is completely naked. _'Damn bastard, where the hell am I?' _She wonders and tries twisting her hands free.

"Ah ah, we wouldn't want you getting free." Michael comes around from behind her, wearing a black tux, and leaning down to cup her face forcing her to look up at him.

"You bloody bastard, where the hell are we?" She snaps.

"Such harsh word from a woman so…exposed." He grins, his eyes resting longer then appropriate down on her chest.

"If you really think this'll make me any less pissed off, you better think again." She states angrily, as he stands back up.

"Oh no, I didn't undress you simply so I could enjoy the view, though I must say it is lovely." He laughs and walks slowly around her again. "I want to ask you a question."

"And in order to do that you had to undress me?" She asks incredulously, feeling the ground behind her she finds a loose nail. Hoping it was sharp enough to cut her rope she starts rubbing the ropes against it.

"Of course, let's get one thing clear. You're not leaving this place until you agree to be my wife. I have people who will marry us as soon as you say yes and get into your dress." He takes down a beautiful white dress from behind the arch. "We'll only leave this place as a couple."

"You're fucking insane, is that why you were trying to hit me the other day? Simply so you could ask to marry me?" She gapes at him and is relieved when one of the ropes cuts. _'Just two more ropes to go, try to keep him talking Isabelle.'_

"I was never going to hit you hard enough to injure you, just knock you out."

"Well that's comforting."

He gets down to her level and pulls out a velvet box. He opens it to reveal a stunning ring and she knows what's next. "Isabelle Rose French, will you marry me?"

"You do realize I'm a damn cop and will have you arrested the minute we get out of here don't you?" She asks curiously, not understanding his logic.

"You won't be able to do a thing after we leave here." He smirks. "Now, what do you say?"

"You're fucking insane Michael." She states again. "But, before we get to my answer I'm curious about something." She stalls and manages to cut through another rope. "Here I am, completely exposed and yet, you haven't done anything."

"I haven't, but you better be prepared for later." He grins and moves close enough for her to feel his breath on her face. "You can be sure I'll get plenty of enjoyment out of our…activities." She starts shaking involuntary. "Aw, am I finally getting you to submit to me?" He leans forward to nip at her earlobe.

"You wish." She snaps, hoping her voice isn't betraying how shaken up she's starting to feel. The last thing she needs is her nerves kicking in. "It's just too damn cold in here."

"Just say yes and I promise to warm you up quickly." He promises moving away from her ear and moving back to have their lips almost touching. He moves one hand to rest just behind her head and uses the other to bring the box with the ring up closer to her.

She doesn't dare flinch at how close he currently is and is relieved when her hands finally come free. She looks him straight in the eyes and smiles warmly. "Alright, I've come to a decision."

"And what's that love?" He asks brushing his lips across hers once.

"No way in hell." She snaps kneeing him as hard as she can in his groin and scrambling away as he falls in pain. "Next time remember to tie my feet up as well." Isabelle is about to start running when a hand grabs her ankle and causes her to fall on her side.

"I'm not letting you go that easily love." He growls. She sits up, but is pushed back down as he hovers above her. He grasps her hands and flattens them on both sides of her head, placing his legs between hers. She knows she's trapped. "Since you're trying to escape, I suppose I can break my own promise and have a little bit of fun first."

She realizes just how exposed she is and her barrier begins to crumble. When he bends down to kiss her bare stomach she starts shaking again. _'What the hell am I going to do?' _He starts coming up from her stomach, but continues kissing her exposed body. When he gets to her neck she gets an idea, it's probably going to hurt a bit, but it's better than letting this go on.

He kisses her again just below her chin and she takes a deep breath, when he is about to kiss her on her lips she closes her eyes and lifts her head up to slam into his as hard as she can. They both groan in pain, but he releases one of her hands and she punches him hard on the side of his head. Managing to crawl out from beneath him she stands up and kicks him in the head again, knocking him out, and grabs his arms to bring them around him. _'Wish I had some handcuffs.' _

No sooner had that though crossed her mind when she hears a pair of doors open. "Deputy, are you in here?" Graham's voice echoes off the walls.

Never had she been so relieved to hear his voice. "Sheriff, Sheriff I'm here." She hated just how shaken up her voice sounded. It's not like he ever threatened to kill her, but as she looks back down at him, attempted rape could be described as just as bad.

The two of them come around from behind the display. Emma gapes at what she sees, "Isabelle, what the hell-?"

"Is that Michael?" Graham asks staring at the knocked out man in front of her. "Deputy what happened, what is all this?"

She stands up, forgetting for a moment that she was completely naked. When Graham quickly looks away and Emma smiles sympathetically she gasps and sits back down, covering her chest with her hands. "Long story short I was kidnapped by my ex-fiancé and he tried to get me to marry him."

Emma moves over to her and hands Isabelle her jacket, even though knowing it's not enough and moves over to cuff Michael. Graham on the other hand moves over to the arch, rips down the white fabric, and walks over to drape it around her. "Are you okay?" He asks gently, as she clutches the sheet close.

She's about to nod, when something inside her snaps. She ends up shaking her head and falling into his chest. Not entirely knowing what to do he wraps his arms around her comfortably. Emma finishes cuffing Michael and comes over to put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright to admit it you know."

"You're right. I'm not okay, but you know me." Isabelle sits back up and smiles at Graham. "I'll bounce back in no time."

"Of course you will." He grins. "Now come on, we should get you out of here before you freeze. Emma, do you mind helping her out? I'll deal with the dumbass over here."

"Of course not, can you stand Isabelle?" She asks gently.

"I think so." She nods and shakily stands up. She has to lean on Emma for support, but finally manages to walk normally. "Where the hell are we anyways? He never told me."

"You're in an abandoned warehouse near the docks." Graham answers, as they make their way over to the door and she can already smell the familiar salty air.

"How did you guys find me?"

"Well-"Graham is cut off as they step outside and Isabelle is tackled by Ruby.

"Thank god you're alright Granny and I were worried sick." She laughs in a way Isabelle knew that she had been crying. She sees Granny coming over and runs over to give her a hug, as Ruby continues her questioning. "What happened? Why did Michael kidnap you, and why are you wearing a sheet-oh."

"Nothing happened." She tries assuring her. "He just thought it would be more amusing for him to take my clothes."

"Yeah it turns out we weren't even needed." Emma almost laughs, as Graham sticks the still unconscious Michael into the back of his car. "Isabelle pretty much had it handled by the time we got there."

"It was his own fault for thinking I wouldn't put up a fight simply because I was exposed in front of him." She shrugs and clings the sheet closer to her chest.

"Well good on you Isabelle." Granny hugs her again and smiles warmly at her. "I'm glad to see you're safe and sound."

"How on earth did you guys know where to find me?" She asks again, as Graham walks back over.

He rubs the back of his head and points to a familiar man standing close enough to watch, but far enough to stay out of the way. "Actually Mr. Gold called it in."

She gapes at him. "But how the hell did he-?"

"You're going to have to ask him yourself." He shrugs. "All he told us on the phone was that he saw Michael hand you a rose, you fainted, and he took you and drove over here."

"And here I didn't think that man had a heart." Emma scoffs.

"If he does, he only shows it to Izzy." Ruby laughs and is met with a slap to the head by her grandmother. "Ow, what was that for? We all know it's true."

Isabelle ignores them and is already making her way to where he was standing. "That's the second time this week you've saved me." She jokes.

"It's hardly saving when you already had the situation handled." He points out and is surprised when she throws an arm around his neck and holds him tightly.

"Thank you." She kisses his cheek.

"I've told you before Miss French it's not any trouble."

She lets go of him and clutches her sheet tightly. "You can't fool me either, how long have you had one of your people following me?"

"It wasn't that they were following you Miss French." He answers. "One of them happens to be living across the street from your ex and saw the whole thing. He even followed the two of you and then called me."

"It's like I said, you have eyes everywhere." She sighs. "But you know if you knew who owned the car why didn't you just tell me?"

"It was because I knew who owned it that I didn't want you to know." He admits. "Though, seeing as though you handled yourself quite well in that situation I apologize for keeping it from you."

"No, a part of me is glad you did." She sighs. "They won't ever get me to admit it, but I was terrified in there. What's worse is I felt like I had been in that kind of situation before. Not like almost getting raped, but like in a situation that I don't know how to get out of."

"You feel as though you've been in that kind of situation before?" He asks curiously with his eyes that made her feel he was searching for something.

She shrugs. "Who knows, maybe in a past life I was a caged bird."

"That's a very…interesting choice of words." He muses.

She's about task what he means, but she hears Ruby calling her name. "I should get going, but thank you so much for today." She smiles. "I'll talk to you again soon?"

"I would hope so, good day Miss French." He nods once, as she ran back down to the others.

"Hey, can we go back to the station?" She asks. "I have an extra pair of clothes and I could really use a pair of pants right about now." They all laugh.

"Of course, but I wouldn't think you want to ride in the same car as Michael." Graham notes. "Ruby, would you mind bringing her back?"

"Of course not, but wouldn't you rather just go home Izzy?" She asks.

"All of my things, minus my clothes, are still in my car." She points out. "And I assume one of you picked up my car and brought it back to the station?" She turns to Emma and Graham.

"Yes everything of yours in on your desk in the office." Emma assures her. "I picked it up before we drove over here."

She smiles at that. "Thank you Emma, Are you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are," Ruby pulls out her car keys; Isabelle assumes her car was finished this morning. "Granny are you coming?"

"Yeah," She growls and Isabelle follows the two of them. Stepping into the car she sees Mr. Gold's car driving off in the distance and is glad for once that he was watching out for her.

* * *

"Where's the Sheriff?" She asks walking into the office and only seeing Emma there holding an extra set of clothes out to her.

"I have no idea." She shrugs. "The minute we get here, he tells me he has to go and pick something up."

"Well at least this way I don't have go all the way into the bathroom to change." She laughs walking into one of the empty cells and finally removing the sheet.

Emma simply moves over to sit in her chair and turns away. "Hey, are you really okay Isabelle? I can't even begin to imagine what he was doing to you in there."

"I'm fine Emma really, though I have to ask. Where is Michael? I thought he'd be in one of these cells." She admits glad to have a bra and panties on again.

"We took him to the hospital before we came here." She explains, as Isabelle starts buttoning up her shirt. "Graham was afraid you gave him a concussion, not that the guy doesn't deserve one, but we still had to make sure. I'll go and check on the bastard later."

"I don't know how to thank the two of you enough." She walks out of the cell and throws the sheet into the trash bin, before sitting down.

"Gold's the one you should be thanking." She points out. "I still can't believe he called it in. He genuinely sounded concerned too."

"I know it's hard to believe, but he and I are actually really good friends." She admits. "I'm sure he did it because he was worried about me, just as I would do the same for him. Though, being a cop I would deal with the issue myself."

Emma laughs at that. "You'll understand if I tell you that's hard to believe. You and him being friends I mean."

"Oh I know it's hard to believe, half the town doesn't believe it and sometimes he drives me so far up the wall I don't understand it either." She admits. "But then something like this happens and I know I can trust both him and the Sheriff to get me out of it."

"This kind of thing has happened before?"

"No, but after I broke it off with Michael the first time both of them helped me get through it. The Sheriff gave me the job here and I could always go into Mr. Gold's shop and talk to him or pick out a book to read." She smiles at the memories.

"I thought you were already working for Graham before you found out he was cheating on you?"

"I was only his assistant then. We got a call about a public disturbance and both of us went. Sheriff Graham caught him as well and helped me prove that he was lying."

"Geez Isabelle, you live some life."

"I trust those two and Ruby with my life." She states. "And if I grow to like you enough, you may be added to the list."

"Thanks." She laughs.

"Why is it whenever I leave for a certain amount of time, I come back to find the two of you laughing?" Graham's voice comes into the room and carrying a box of doughnuts.

"We like to talk about you after you leave, so you always miss the best parts." Isabelle jokes.

"Very funny," He growls. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine really. Stop worrying about me."

"Sorry Deputy, you know I can't do that." He states. "Also, I'm relieving you of duty for a few days."

"You're doing what!?"

He ignores her and turns to Emma, opening the box and offering her one. "I know I promised you no night shifts, but Deputy French needs to get some rest and I promised to help out at the animal shelter tonight."

Emma shakes her head and grabs a bear claw. "Fine and you're right Isabelle should go home."

"Now wait a minute I told you I'm fine."

"This isn't debatable Deputy, you're taking a few days off and that's final." He states angrily.

They stand there in silence for a few minutes, with Isabelle and Graham glaring at one another. "I suppose this is a bad time to interrupt?" A timid voice asks. Isabelle looks around behind Graham to see Mary Margret Blanchard standing near the doorway, looking like she didn't quite know what to do. "I was wondering if I could talk to Emma." She continues.

Isabelle sighs and begins grabbing her things. "Of course Mary Margret go ahead. Sheriff Graham was just about to take me home."

"I-yes, of course I was." He stutters and grabs his coat. "I'll talk to you later Emma."

"See you later Graham." She laughs, "And Isabelle? Please get some rest."

"Don't have much of a choice with you two kicking me out of the office." She almost smiles at her, as they make their way out of the room.

* * *

"You're shaking." Graham notes later, as they were driving around town. Isabelle has a feeling there's a reason they're taking the long way to her place.

"So I am." She sighs and has been trying to stop, but with no luck.

He groans and pulls his car into an alleyway. "Okay, you are going to tell me what happened in there." He states turning off the engine and turning to face her.

"And if I don't want to remember what happened?"

"Isabelle…please." He almost pleads.

They very rarely use one another's names, so she knew very quickly that she was going to give in. "Michael was the one driving the car that almost hit me a few days ago." She starts easy. "I just finished writing a ticket to the Tanner kids, again, and saw the car parked in the garage. I didn't know that the house belonged to him."

"What made him go all the way over to the building by the docks?"

"You saw how it was set up; he wanted us to get married." She shrugs. "I guess he didn't want to get it done in his own house. Anyways, I try talking to him and he gives me a rose. I smell it and I'm suddenly feeling woozy and end up getting knocked out." She's hesitant about discussing the rest, but with him staring at her in worry, she gives in. "…I wake up tied to a pillar and naked. I tried to get free, but he stopped me and stood directly in my line of sight. We bantered for longer than you would think and I found a loose nail behind me and started cutting through the ropes he had tied my hands with."

"Clever, keep him talking so you could get free."

"Yeah, it worked until I actually got free and he grabbed my ankle. When he got back up, after I had kicked him where it hurts, he crawled on top of me." She can feel tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. "He told me he had planned to wait to have some fun, but since I wasn't behaving he would have to teach me how, or something along those lines. I was panicking. He was kissing me. I didn't know what else to do, so I ended up slamming my head against his." Her tears start falling and Graham says nothing, but reaches over and pulls her into a tight embrace. "I managed to crawl out from under him and punch him in the face. I think that was around the time he was knocked out and I heard you guys come in." She finishes weakly and allows herself to cry into his chest.

He continues not to say anything, but clutches her tightly and allows her to break down from her usual tough exterior. "I'm afraid I don't know what to say to even remotely make you feel any better." He admits.

She laughs weakly at that. "I don't expect you to have anything to say, but I should've known that you'd want to know what happened."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She sighs pulling away from him and wiping the last of her tears off her face. "It's better you get the statement from me, before he wakes up and tries convincing you something else happened."

"After what I saw in there when Emma and I walked in, it would take a hell of a lot of convincing to get me to take his side." He scoffs.

"So you admit there's a chance you would take his side?"

"I-that's not what I meant." He blinks.

She's laughing now. "I know, but I still don't like this take a few days off shtick. You know me, I bounce back quickly."

"Not from something like this Deputy." He states. "As proof, you still can't stop shaking and I've never seen you cry like that. I'm not letting you come in to work for the next few days."

"What the hell am I supposed to think then if something happens to you?" she snaps.

"You are definitely still yourself." He sighs. "Deputy, we agreed to protect one another a long time ago. I'm doing my part now by making you stay home for a few days while we deal with Michael."

"I'm not going to forgive you if something happens to you while I'm not there you know." She states.

"Yes you will, you always do."

"I'm also always with you."

"Deputy," He sighs and pulls her over to him again. She hesitates, but wraps her arms around him tightly. "I'll be fine, let me take care of you for once."

"I hate that you're doing this you know."

"I know." He lets her go and moves to start the car again. "But, it's been decided and you are not to come into work for the next few days understood?"

"Loud and clear sir," She states. They pull out and once again drive over to her apartment, which happened to be right around the corner. She realizes now if she wanted to avoid talking about what happened she could've just stepped out of the car and walked, but as usual she allowed the Sheriff to see her more vulnerable side.

"Do you want me to go up with you?" He asks when he pulls up to the curb.

"I'm not that helpless you realize."

"Of course not sorry," He laughs. She opens the door and is about to leave. "Talk to you later Deputy French."

"You won't be getting rid of me that easily sir." She gets out of the car and leans back down to tell him goodbye. "You know how to reach me if either of you need anything."

"I have your number on speed dial." He assures her. "Have a good rest of the day."

"You too Sheriff," She closes the door and waves, as he drives back down the street.

* * *

Isabelle wakes up suddenly to her phone playing the annoying unknown caller ringtone, which she still hasn't bothered to change since high school. Half asleep she rolls over and tries to reach her phone on the nightstand, as it continues to play the, now officially irritating, song. "Oh shut up I'll find you in a minute." She groans, half asleep, her hand finally clasping the small device and hitting send. "What is it?"

"_You know, for the woman who told me to call her if I needed anything you sound pretty mad."_ She hears Graham's familiar voice.

"_I wouldn't have sounded so pissed off if I knew it was you sir." _She sighs and sits up. _"Why the hell are you calling me at-"_She looks over at her clock, _"Two in the morning, and from an unfamiliar line? I swear to the gods if you're drunk again-"_

"_I'm not drunk Deputy I promise." _She hears him sigh, as if annoyed. _"I dropped my phone somewhere and am calling you from a pay phone."_

"_Don't tell me you got into another fight with Regina."_

"_How did you know-?_

"_Oh come on that whole 'volunteering at the animal shelter' thing you told Emma earlier. That's the same crap you pulled on me the first week I began working for you."_

"_Yes well, all the same Emma was patrolling and caught me coming out of Regina's home. She drove off and now I don't know what to do."_

"_Oh come on you're both adults. It shouldn't matter that she caught you, you have a relationship with the mayor who cares?" _He stays silent, _"Unless, you really didn't want her to find out?"_

"_I-"_

"_Oh my god, you didn't want her to find out," _She gapes. _"Sir, you can't do this."_

"_I need your help Deputy." _He admits the pain in his voice evident. _"I know this isn't right, but I don't know what to do. I don't feel anything when I'm with Regina."_

"_Not feeling anything's a great excuse when what you feel sucks."_

"_Deputy,"_

She sighs._ "You need to take a good long look at your feelings, Sheriff, and especially your feelings towards Regina and Emma."_

"_Thanks for the help." _He scoffs.

"_It's all I got at the moment unfortunately, but if you don't royally screw it up by tomorrow I'm sure I can think of something else. Try to remember it's two in the morning."_

"_Fair point, I apologize for calling so late Deputy."_

"_Just…get some rest okay?" _She asks him and just to clarify that she's still her usual self she adds, _"And don't do anything stupid."_

She hears him laugh. _"I'll try my best Deputy good-night." _

"_Night," _She ends the call. '_Damn that idiot.' _She looks up to see the light coming on in the kitchen. "Ruby, is that you?" She calls out. A minute later her roommate's head pops into her room with an apple in her mouth. Laughing Isabelle gets out of bed and follows her out and into the kitchen.

"Didn't expect you to be home," Ruby smiles warmly at her, as Isabelle goes and grabs a glass to fill it with water. "How are you doing?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She shakes her head. "I'm fine Ruby, really. The Sheriff just thought it was a good idea to send me home for a few days."

"Doesn't surprise me, but what are you doing up so late, nightmare?"

"Nope, the Sheriff called me for help." She finishes her water in one swipe and turns around to refill it.

She starts laughing. "Seems Graham can't even make it one night without you, are you going to have to go out?"

"No, it's not that kind of problem. Long story short Emma caught him in a lie and he called me for advice. I simply reminded him that it's two in the morning and I'm not thinking straight."

"Still typical Graham," She shakes her head. "Anyways, sorry but I'm tired and am going to bed, night Izzy."

"Night Ruby," She waves, as she makes her way out of the room and heads upstairs. Finishing another glass of water Isabelle goes over to turn off the light and head back into her room, grateful she was on the bottom floor.

* * *

"Hello Emma." Isabelle smiles at her, as she entered the office the next day.

"What the hell-?" She jumps up from her chair. "Isabelle, you know you're not supposed to be here."

"Yes, to work. Does it look like I'm here to do that?" She asks gesturing down to her outfit. A dark blue sundress that stopped just above her knees, a white shawl, and white boots with kitten heels.

"No, and I suppose this is the first time I've seen your hair up." She notes. "What's with the picnic basket, are you going on a date?"

"No, but I was planning on seeing someone later. I just wanted to check up here first." She moves over to sit in her seat. "The Sheriff called me last night and told me what happened."

"And you wanted to what? Apologize for not mentioning to me sooner?" She asks curtly, but Isabelle is simply glad Emma isn't asking her how she's feeling after yesterday, unlike the rest of the town.

"Actually I wanted to say I'm sorry that you had to find out in the same way I did." She admits.

"You know he-wait what?"

"I was patrolling one night and caught him sneaking out of Regina's house. If I remember right I hurt him pretty bad, but it was his own fault for not telling me the truth and looking like a thief." She shrugs.

"Well I certainly had a go at him last night, but you're right, it's his own fault." Emma almost laughs and gazes out the window, as if in thought. "You know he came up to me this morning and kissed me."

"He did what?" Isabelle gapes at her and leans back in her chair, slapping her forehead in a grimace. "Damn that idiot, I told him not to do anything stupid."

"That's just it though, after I pushed him away and left I find myself conflicted." She admits.

"Dear Gods, don't tell me you have feelings for him?"

"I didn't say that."

"You don't have too it's clear on your face." She groans and gets up. "I'll go and talk to him again and see what I can do."

"Don't you think this a problem he and I need to figure out ourselves?"

"It should be, but the Sheriff did ask for my help." Isabelle grins and reaches into her basket to pull out one of the chocolate almond pastries; she had made earlier that morning, and hands it to her. "Here, you look like you could use something to eat. I made it myself."

She smiles and takes it from her. "Thanks Isabelle." Understanding that Emma was thanking her for more than the pastry she grins and heads out of the building.

* * *

"Sir, are you alright?" Isabelle asks later, after almost running into Graham on Main Street.

"I've been…better." He admits. "I just went to talk to Mary Margret."

"Emma's roommate, what on earth did you have to talk to her about?" He ignores her question and simply stares at her, as if trying to figure something out. "What?" She finally asks.

"Remember a few days ago when you were asking me if I ever felt like this place wasn't real, and something about us not belonging here?"

"Yes, but you were still recovering from a hangover. I didn't think you'd even remember that conversation, so I didn't push it." She shrugs.

"I think you're right." He states.

"What!" She asks incredulously. "Sheriff, they're just stupid dreams I've been having, nothing more. There is nothing odd about Storybrooke."

"I don't have a heart." He blurts out. "That's why I don't feel anything."

"Sir, you're being ridiculous. You have a heart just like everyone else." To prove her point she takes his hand and puts it on his chest. "You feel that?"

"But I-"

"Had a dream," She states. "Perhaps I'm not the one who needs to be taking a break sir."

He quickly resorts back to his usual demeanor. "Nice try Deputy, I'm fine. You're right, it must've been a silly dream I had last night after I called you."

"Yes, and speaking of that." She reaches up and slaps him hard across the cheek. "I told you to figure out your feelings, not to go and kiss Emma."

"That's what I was trying to do." He tries convincing her, while rubbing the spot she slapped. "I told you I needed to feel something and that only seems to happen when I'm near her."

"Yeah, you pretty much admitted to me you like her last night." She reminds him. "But have you really thought about this? I don't understand why you're with Regina in the first place. I've never talked to you about it because I try to respect your privacy, but now? Now you're stepping on land mines, what are you going to do if Regina finds out?"

"Deputy, you're worried over nothing. I'll get this straightened out." He puts a hand on her shoulder. "You worry about me too much."

"You're the one not letting me come into work." She states. "I can't help but worry about you."

He pulls her into a tight embrace. "Just because we made the promise to protect one another, doesn't mean we have to be together all the time."

"I've known that from the start dummy." She shoves him playfully. "But that still doesn't mean I like being sent home like someone who got herself in trouble."

"You don't find trouble Deputy, trouble usually finds you." He laughs.

"Oh I don't know; did Michael's father come to the station yesterday? I could be charged with assault on his son, after what I did."

"That's not going to happen. I already have your statement and as soon as he wakes up, honestly Deputy how hard did you hit him, I'll get his statement and he'll be the one put away."

"Hopefully into the mental institution under the hospital," She murmurs.

"Yes, I would think that place will be perfect for him." He agrees. "Anyways, you have nothing to worry about and I promise you will be able to come back in another few days. Emma and I can only deal with this town for so long without you." She laughs at that. "Besides, it looks like you're taking your day off well." He gestures to her basket. "Heading out on a date?"

"No, I simply want to thank Mr. Gold for yesterday. If it wasn't for him I would've had to walk out of that place and found you guys on my own." She shivers at the thought. "That wasn't something that appealed to me very well."

"No, I assume not." He agrees.

"Anyways, I should let you get back to work." She smiles up at him. "And sir, please let this, having no heart, thing go. You know who you are, just follow what your instincts tell you to do."

"So now I'm an animal?"

"Well you do seem to spend a lot of time in the woods." She jokes and wraps her arms around his neck.

"Oh just go and flirt with your crush, while I go and straighten out my life." He scoffs, but holds her in a tight embrace for only a moment.

"It's not flirting; I'm simply thanking him for helping me out." She argues, letting go and stepping off the curb to cross the street.

"Whatever you want to believe," He calls after her. _'Oh Belle, if only you could realize how close you are to the truth.' _He hears himself thinking as he watches her head down the street to Mr. Gold's shop. Shaking his head and confused as to where that came from he walks off towards Regina's house to talk to Henry, who he hopes has an idea as to what's going on with him.

* * *

Taking a deep breath Isabelle enters his shop and enjoys the familiar ringing of the bell announcing her arrival. It only takes a moment for her to hear the familiar sound of his cane entering the main room. "Good afternoon Mr. Gold." She smiles warmly.

"Good afternoon Miss French." He smiles back, as she makes her way up to the counter. "What can I do for you? Looking for another book?"

"Actually I wanted to thank you properly for yesterday." She admits and places the picnic basket up on the counter. "I know it's almost two in the afternoon, but I was wondering if you wanted to share a meal."

He gives her a mock bow. "I would love to share a meal with you. Why don't I go make us some tea and we can eat in here, if that's okay with you?"

"That sounds perfect." He only nods and disappears back into his office. She mentally slaps herself. _'That sounds perfect? Why don't I just straight up kiss him and admit that I love him?' _Blushing at the thought she opens her basket and starts laying out the food she had prepared for them.

"Miss French, that was delicious." He tells her later, after finishing the meal she had prepared. "Where on earth did you learn to cook like that?"

She was sitting on the edge of the counter sipping the tea he had prepared for them. "After my mother passed I had plenty of time to perfect the recipes she left for me." She answers and smiles at him again. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Very much so, but you really didn't have to go to all the trouble."

"You saved my life a few days ago with the car and then again yesterday by calling the Sheriff." She points out. "I think this is the least I could do."

"Well when you put it like that." He jokes.

"This wasn't just for that you know." She laughs. "I want to thank you for everything else you've done for me. If it wasn't for you and Graham then I'd be in an even worse situation with my father then I already am."

"The relationship you currently share with your father is hardly your own fault."

"Still, I could've done more to mend it."

He shrugs. "Well so could've he."

"Thank you Mr. Gold." She smiles and takes another sip of her tea.

"Of course Miss French, you know you can always come and talk to me."

"You know, you're awfully nice for a guy who is known as the town's devil." She laughs. "You've always been nice to me, but ever since Emma showed up you've been making a bigger effort to talk to me and make sure I'm alright."

"I may have always been nice to you, but you are the one who seeks me out every day."

She blushes slightly at that. "So you did know."

"I would have to be extremely dense not to notice Miss French."

"Well I didn't ever see you telling me you were too busy." She retorts playfully.

He moves to stand beside her. "No, I suppose I always managed to drop whatever I was doing in order to talk to you." He admits. "Why do you think that is Miss French?"

"You know, I really don't mind being called Belle." She sets her cup down on the counter and sees something like pain flash in his eyes. "Or Miss French is fine, whatever you prefer." She stutters.

"I prefer Belle." He sighs and leans up against the counter next to her. His thumb moves along the rim of the chipped cup he had been using. She wants to ask why he still keeps something like that, but doesn't push it. "But, I suppose, I've been calling you Miss French for so long it's stuck."

She scoots closer over to him. "You know…there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but never had the strength to say."

"And what's that…Belle?" He turns to look at her.

Knowing she's blushing Isabelle moves a loose strand of hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ear. "I was always so afraid you might not feel the same way."

"Oh?"

She takes the teacup from him and sets it down next to hers, afraid he might drop it. "I still don't know, but after what happened yesterday. I really want, no, I need to get this out." Taking a deep breath she smiles weakly at him, trying to ignore the fact she is fervently blushing. "I love you Mr. Gold, and probably have been in love with you for a long time."

She sees pain flash in his eyes again, but when he finally opens his mouth, it's not what she expects to hear. "The rest of the town would question your choice."

She almost bursts out laughing. It wasn't a rejection, if anything he was trying to make her change her mind. "Let the town think what they want."

"I'm not a good man."

"I know."

"I'm old enough to be your father." He argues and brings his face close enough to hers, that she can feel his breath. "Hell, I'm older than your father."

"So?" She grins, leaning forward, their lips now almost touching.

"What if I told you the reason I got close to you is because you're the deputy of this little town?"

She cocks her head to the side and gives him a look. "I've arrested you before, so I know that has nothing to do with it."

"Belle-"

"I really don't care what you've done, or how much you try to deter me Gold." She states. "Whatever choices I make in my life are going to be my own." He doesn't say anything after that and simply stares at her. Understanding that he wasn't rejecting her, but that he wouldn't make the first move she closes the gap between them.

The kiss was soft at first, both of them trying to get the feel and taste of the other. He reaches up to cup her face and lifts it up for better access. She lets out a growl in the back of her throat and parts her lips to allow him in, as she wraps her arms around his neck to tangle in his hair and bring him closer. They're both almost desperate as they explore the recesses of one another's mouths and Isabelle grins inwardly when she earns a moan from him. Eventually the need for oxygen became too great and they part.

He pecks her again on the lips and smiles warmly. "I think that just proved I love you too Isabelle."

She laughs and nearly knocks him over when she throws herself at him in a tight embrace. "I knew I should've told you the minute I realized it."

He kisses her forehead. "I'm partially to blame as well."

"You were the one trying to deter me away from you. Trying to convince me you aren't a great guy and all that." She protests.

"I'm still not you know."

"You're not going to get me to change my mind about this." She insists and grins wickedly, as she leans forward to kiss him again.

"And I suppose I can live with that." He laughs, after they break apart. Isabelle suddenly feels dizzy and nearly falls off the counter. He almost has to catch her, as she slumps into his chest. "Are you alright?"

She vaguely hears him, as she closes her eyes and tries to keep her head up. A few seemingly familiar images flash before her eyes of Mr. Gold, no, another man that simply looks like him, but has light greenish gold skin. Another image quickly flashes by, this time an image looking vaguely like her, but a bit different. "What the hell-?" She murmurs, opening her eyes again, not expecting to remember the two people constantly in her dreams so suddenly.

"Belle, are you alright?"She hears him, clearly this time and with worry in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just thought I remembered something." She assures him, standing up on her own again. "I wonder though if that was just an old memory."

"What did you see?" He asks curiously.

"I…I don't really know." She admits sheepishly. He stares at her, almost as if waiting for something to happen. "Actually, I have a question I want to ask you."

"Ask away my dear."

"Do you ever feel like we don't belong here?" She asks bluntly he blinks at her in surprise. "Like, do you feel as if we're living our lives day to day, but not really going anywhere?"

"That's…a very interesting thought Belle."

"You think I'm talking nonsense." She sighs. "Look I'm sorry, but I've been having some weird dreams for over a week now and I'm starting to think I'm going crazy."

"I don't think you're talking nonsense and you most certainly are not going crazy." He insists and watches her jump to sit on the counter again. "You know some people believe that dreams are memories of another life."

"Oh really, what do you believe in Mr. Gold?"

"I never rule out any possibilities Belle."

"Even if, in a past life, I see you as a man with greenish gold skin, the oddest sense of fashion choice, and having a tendency for collecting treasures?" She wonders out loud.

"What an odd life you must have lived in the past dearie." He laughs, but she gets the strange sense that he is trying to hold something back "Tell me, were you in love with this beast?"

"Don't call him that." She almost snaps. "And yes, I did love him, dearly."

"In your…dreams, what's this person's name?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know. They never even talk. All I do know is that they remind me of us."

"I find it hard to believe that even in a different life; you fell in love with a guy like me Belle." He smirks. "Did you ever get the person's name in your dream?"

"No, again, neither of them talked. I could see their lips moving, but it was as if I wasn't allowed to listen to what they were saying to one another." She sighs and jumps off the counter to go over to the shelf of books he has in a corner. "Oh well, it's not like it really matters, they're just weird dreams."

He follows her and watches as she grabs a book off the shelf that catches her eye and turns it over to read the back. "Belle, do you remember the first time we met?"

"We met several times when I was younger; you helped me through an extremely difficult time." She answers automatically, annoyed that her answer sounded like it was already planted in her head.

"I mean when you and I actually first started talking like we do now."

"Yes, I was in my senior year of high school, reading a book and walking through the park, when I literally ran into you." She recalls vaguely. "I apologized and you asked me why I seemed so distracted. You always have been someone who can tell that I'm able watch where I'm going, even when reading a book."

"Yes, you were worried about what you were going to do after graduating."

"Right, then you brought up that you had an apartment ready to be moved into at any time." She notes and turns back around in order to face him. "You also offered me a job working for you after I graduated."

"I did."

'You're bringing the job offer up again aren't you?"

"I am."

"Why?"

"Because I can tell you're happiest in here." He smiles gently at her. "And that you would rather be in a nice quiet place, in order for you to read your books."

"That's-"

"Come now Isabelle am I wrong?" He asks. She sighs and finally shakes her head. "Why did you decide to work for Sheriff Graham?"

"I made a promise to him and to myself." She admits clutching the book she was holding close. He looks at her questionably. "I've only ever seen him work alone and when he offered me the job, me of all people, I was shocked. When I asked him why he wanted me he only said, 'because you remind me of myself in a lot of ways.' I've always been a bit of an oddball, and when he gave me the job I was able to find so many other sides to myself. I owe a lot to him and I already promised to do everything I can to protect him, in whatever way I can offer."

"Belle-"

"But you're right. In the end, my roots always return to loving a good book and wanting to be left alone to read." She sighs. "However, that doesn't mean I'm going to leave."

"Even with someone else working in the office?"

"Yes, even now, with someone else in the office." She laughs. "Also, do you mind if I borrow this one?" She holds up the book she had been looking at.

"Not at all, you may borrow what you wish." He waves a hand dismissively.

Isabelle makes her way back over to the counter and starts cleaning up whatever was left from their meal. "Actually, I have an idea." She turns back to look at him. "Do you want to play a little game?"

"It all depends on the terms of the game dearie." He smirks and walks back over to where she was cleaning up.

"It's a win-win situation for you." She promises and has to laugh at the way he told her that. "Every time I see you from now on, I get one guess at your real name. When I do finally guess your name, and only then, will come and work for you in your shop."

"One guess every time you see me huh?" He ponders. "So you mean for this particular game to last a long time."

"I do."

"Very well Isabelle. I will play along."

He grins wickedly at her and Isabelle realizes quickly that she has to make some rules. "I don't want any hints, at all. It's just going to be a simple every time I see you; I get to have a go at your name. No accidently dropping your driver's license, no giving away your name when talking to someone else when I'm around. I'm not having any of that. I have to be the one, personally, to figure it out."

"Of course Isabelle," He gives her a mock bow. "We'll play be your rules, don't worry."

"Good." She states. "And if anything, this gives us another reason to run into one another more often every day."

"I suppose it does." He smirks and she leans in to kiss him gently again. "Though, I don't really think we'll need much motivation to see one another every day."

"I suppose you're right." She laughs.

"So, did you want to start this little game now, or wait until tomorrow?"

"I figured the sooner the better." She shrugs and finishes putting everything in her basket. "So, Mr. Gold, is your first name…Robert?"

"I do apologize Isabelle, but I'm afraid that is not my name."

"You don't have to make it so dramatic." She ends up laughing at the hand gestures he had been making, when telling her she was wrong.

"I have to have some fun in this too you know?"

She kisses him on the cheek this time and picks up her things. "I love you Mr. Gold."

"I love you too Isabelle, see you tomorrow?" He walks out to the front of the counter to see her off.

"I would hope so. I still have a lot of guessing to do." She laughs and is about to leave when something occurs to her. "I truly am sorry, but my first priority is protecting Sheriff Graham."

"It's alright Isabelle. I can see where you're coming from. You have a person like a brother to you that you need to stay for." He swallows hard. "Just as my first priority will always be my son."

She actually stops at that and turns around. "You have a son?" He nods slowly. "I'm s…sorry. I just, never knew. Where, where is he now?"

"I don't know." He admits and looks up to meet her eyes. "It was a bad…separation, but I promised myself I would go and find him one day, when I had the courage to face him again."

"Do you…do you want to talk about him?" She asks tentatively, understanding from the crack in his voice how hard it must be for him to even talk about his son this much.

"I'll tell you what, why don't I make you a deal." He offers. "When you guess my name and come to work for me, I'll tell you all about him."

Getting an odd sense of déjà-vu Isabelle simply shakes that thought away. "Deal," She states, before waving again and walking out of the shop.

Feeling absolutely ecstatic after spending the afternoon, with her now boyfriend, Isabelle walks down the street and over to her car. Feeling another wave of nausea she has an ominous feeling that she needs to be at the sheriff's station. Starting the car she drives the short distance to the office and runs in.

"Graham, Graham please, please wake up, Graham." Isabelle hears Emma crying hysterically in the other room.

A wave of dread courses through her, as she held open the door, too afraid to walk inside and see what had happened. A million thoughts race through her head as Isabelle finally got the courage to walk around the corner. Emma was sitting down in front of their desk holding the seemingly unconscious Sheriff in her arms. "Emma-?" she manages to get out, but feels her legs buckle out on her. Tears begin to form at the corner of her eyes.

Emma turns around at the sound Isabelle made when she hit the floor; tears were still streaming down her face. "Isabelle, I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened we were kissing and he just-"She chokes out.

Isabelle has to put her hands over her mouth to stop herself from making a horrible choking sound she makes when she cries heavily. "Is he-?" Not trusting herself to speak Emma simply nods. "Sheriff Graham." Isabelle finally lets the tears fall and shouts. "You idiot," A sharp pain goes through her head again and she's forced to hold it up.

"Isabelle-?"

A wave of images flash through her head at the same time and she's forced to lie down. An image of someone looking vaguely like the town's mayor flashes through her head and Isabelle's world goes black.

* * *

"_Hey, are you alright?" A familiar voice asks._

_Opening her eyes Isabelle can see that she is in a tower like room, with tick marks along the wall. 'What the hell-? I was in the Sheriff's office a minute ago.' She wonders and sits up to see Graham, looking very different from how she knew him, staring at her in concern with a tray of food. She wants to ask him what the hell is going on, but what comes out off her mouth isn't what she expects. "You're…the Huntsman right?"_

"_Hey, she does speak." He laughs placing the tray of food on her bed. "You've been here for a few months. I was starting to think you were mute."_

"_Well excuse me for not wanting to talk to the people who locked me up in here." She snaps._

"_It's alright." He shrugs. "I don't think I would want to talk to anyone if I was locked up like this."_

"_What on earth am I doing here anyways? And why can you just come in here whenever you want, but I can't get out?"_

"_The Queen is keeping you here, as a weapon against Rumplestiltskin." He answers. "Though, I don't know her actual plans for you. Also, the door is enchanted. People can get in, but can't get out."_

_She leans back against the wall. "I just wanted to go back to him. She was the one who convinced me to go back the first time, so why would she keep me away from him a second?"_

"_In order to break him?" He offers up weakly._

_She's almost in tears now. "Please, just go. I want to be left alone." _

_He gives her a mock bow. "Very well, I apologize for upsetting you and will be seeing you again tomorrow." Giving her one last look he opens the door and leaves her alone._

_Isabelle finds herself crying for reasons she doesn't understand and clutches her knees close to her chest. 'What's going on? Why is Graham here? What Queen? Why am I locked up in here?' She wonders. It was like finding herself trapped in someone else's body, but not able to move. _

_The girl Isabelle assumes she's possessing wipes away the tears and picks up the small hand mirror on the edge of the bed. When she looks at it Isabelle is shocked. 'That's me, or kind of me, but that's me. I'm trapped in my own body? No, what if this is a memory, but a memory of what?' She tries recalling what happened to her in the past, but only comes up with memories from Storybrooke. 'What the hell is going on?' Finding herself to tired to figure anything out Isabelle closes her eyes. _

_She wakes up again in the same room with even more tick marks along the wall. 'Am I counting the number of days I've been here?' She wonders hearing the door open and Graham, once again, walks inside._

"_Still don't trust me much I see." He sighs, placing the tray of food on the edge of the bed again. She just looks at him. "I get it, really I do."_

"_You work for the queen, how am I supposed to know if you're simply trying to get information out of me? Or worse, trying to lead me into a false sense of security?" She asks angrily._

"_I can't convince you that I'm not a spy for her; I know that, but I can at least try and make your stay here a bit more close to home." He smiles awkwardly and pulls out a book from his bag. "You look like someone who enjoys a good book, so I thought, why not try this."_

_She reaches out and nervously takes it from him. "Thank you."_

_He scratches the back of his head. "Yeah, well, I wasn't sure what you liked and I'm not even sure you'll like this. I just found it around this place and figured-"He stops, as she gets out of bed and hugs him gently._

"_Regardless, I love it, thank you Huntsman." She smiles warmly. "But don't think this will make me talk."_

_He blinks at the unusual showing of affection and smirks. "I told you I'm not trying to get anything out of you, but I suppose it will take more than a book to convince you of that."_

"_Yes, it will, but thank you regardless." She moves to sit back on her bed and eats a bit of the bread._

"_It's good to see you're eating as well." He remarks, as he watches her take a sip of the water._

"_Well, at first I figured if she was going to kill me anyways, what was the point in trying to stay alive." She sighs. "Now I'm arguing with myself that maybe I can get out of here at one point, or Rumplestiltskin will realize that the Queen is keeping me here and will want me back."_

"_I suppose there is, at times, always hope, that things will get better." He murmurs and gives her a small bow. "I'm afraid I must be going, but I will return again."_

"_Since you're the only one who visits me, I would assume so." She nods, as he makes his way out the room once again._

"_Wake up dearie, we're almost there." Another familiar voice wakes her up. Isabelle, or rather this other girl like her, opens her eyes and finds herself lying across the floor of a carriage. _

"_What's going on? Where are we going?" She snaps turning around to see Storybrooke's mayor Regina Mills smirking down at her and wearing a beautiful black outfit, but something she could never imagine their mayor wearing. _

"_You're not going anywhere; you are still in your little room in my castle." She grins wickedly. "But we are going to go and have a little chat with your old master in his castle."_

"_How am I here?"_

"_Magic," She answers simply. "You are going to come in with me and watch, as I explain to him that you are dead. We can't have him finding out that you're with me now can we?"_

"_You're going to let him think me dead?" She shouts angrily. "You can't do that, just, just let me try and talk to him again, please. I know I can convince him this time."_

"_I told you once before little maid, that monster is beyond saving." _

"_He's not the monster here your majesty, you are." She spat._

"_Such fire for one so young, it's no wonder he took an interest in you. "She laughs. "Call me what you like dear, but you won't change my mind."_

"_Was this your plan from the beginning then? To have me watch as you tell the man I love that I died, as I'm forced to watch from the sidelines?"_

"_He's not a man dear, just an old monster that needs to be brought down a few pegs." She grins wickedly again, as the carriage stops and Isabelle looks out to see the familiar castle that's been in her dreams for weeks. 'What the hell-? What is going on around here?' She wonders, as she's forced out of the carriage and follows the Queen inside._

"_Flimsy locks Rumple." Regina strolls into the main room, which Isabelle immediately recognizes from her dreams. Her eyes are drawn to the man sitting at a spinning wheel. "I'm here to make a deal with you about a certain mermaid."_

"_I'm not dealing today." He murmurs softly, his eyes never leaving the wheel. Isabelle almost falls over at the familiar voice. It sounded more…inhuman, but it was unmistakably Mr. Gold's. She wanted to speak, but found that her voice was gone._

"_Are you angry with me?" Regina asks, while pouring herself a bit of tea. Met with silence she sighs. "What did I do this time?"_

"_You're little deception failed. You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never going to beat me." He replies, acid laced in his voice. Isabelle actually shivers slightly, but Regina doesn't appear to be fazed._

"_Is this about that little girl I met on the road?" She asks. Isabelle wants to slap her, but isn't entirely sure why. "What was her name? Mary? Verna?" _

"_Belle," He finally answers._

_Isabelle blinks at that. 'Is that my name here, Belle? It's so close to my name now though, why is that?' She wonders, as the Queen continues._

"_Yes well, I had nothing to do with that tragedy." She sips her tea innocently._

_He stops and stands up to face her. "What tragedy?"_

"_You mean you didn't hear?" She asks faking surprise. "After she left with you her fiancé disappeared and after her association with you, when she returned home. Her own father shunned her and no one would take her in."_

"_So she needs…a home." He asks. The pain in his voice was breaking Isabelle's heart, but Regina wasn't finished._

"_Her father locked her in a tower and sent clerics to cleanse her. After awhile she just got tired of it and threw herself out the window." She shrugs. "She died."_

"_You're lying." He snaps._

"_Am I?" _

_Isabelle can see him shaking with anger and then point to the door. "Get. Out." _

_Regina puts the cup down and simply shrugs. "Fine, I have other arrangements I can make." She makes her way over to the door, but not before sliding her fingers across the dining table. "This place is getting filthy Rumple." She stops just in front of him. "You should get a new girl."_

_Isabelle is suddenly thrown back onto her bed in the tower as if she never left. "Belle?" She sees Graham in the corner of the room. "I wondered what happened. I walk in here and you're sitting on your bed as if in a trance. What happened?"_

"_The Queen-"She manages to choke out, before ending up in tears._

_Not really good at comforting someone the Huntsman walks over and gives her an awkward hug. Simply grateful for his attempt she throws her arms around him. "What did she do?" He asks, holding her close._

"_We- she took me to see Rumplestiltskin." She cries, making an attempt at keeping her voice from cracking. "I mean he couldn't see me, but she made sure to make me watch as she, as she convinced him I'm dead." _

_He holds her tighter. "I'm so sorry." Not knowing what else to say._

"_It's hardly your fault." She laughs weakly and tries wiping away the tears. "I'm madder that he believed her so easily, but as much as I love him, he is a coward."_

"_The Dark One, a coward?" He asks her incredulously. "He scares me more than Regina."_

"_You also haven't spent as much time with him as I have." She points out, finally worming herself out of his grip and back onto the bed._

"_Point taken," He shrugs and catches her yawning widely. "I think it's time for Belle to get some rest, you've had a long day and I truly am sorry for it."_

"_It's not your fault, but thank you." She smiles weakly at him. He only gives her another mock bow and leaves the room. Her eyes grow heavy, as she lies down and quickly falls into a deep sleep._

_She wakes up again and this time finds numerous more tick marks along the wall. 'How much time passes as I sleep?' She wonders. 'Or are there just memories that aren't worth remembering?' Shaking her head, and wondering when she began thinking of this as a memory, she sits up to see her usual tray of food and a new book. 'He really is trying.' Picking it up she manages to read the front page when the door opens and a man wearing nothing but black and had a hook for a hand walks in. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" She asks knowing he isn't with the Queen._

"_I'm here because I need your help." He answers._

"_Why would you need my help?" She asks, of course wanting to get out of this place, but not trusting the look in this man's eyes. "Who are you anyways?"_

"_The name's Hook and seeing as though you've spent more time with the Dark One then anyone; I need your help." He replies, sounding almost annoyed. "He's attacking your father and we need some way to destroy him."_

_She sighs at that and stands up. "No, he's attacking him for something he thinks my father's done, please just let me go and talk to him." She insists. "I'm sure I can go and get him to stop."_

"_The only way to make that beast stop is to destroy him." He spat._

"_You really don't have to do that."_

"_Not without your help."_

"_Look, I don't know how to kill him, and even if I did I wouldn't help you do so." She snaps. "Please, just let me talk to him I'm sure I can-"_

"_You don't?" He deadpans._

"_N-no."_

"_Then it appears I don't need you." He moves over and slaps her into unconsciousness._

"_Belle, Belle." She hears Graham's, no, the Huntsman's voice and could feel him shaking her._

"_Wha-?" She opens her eyes groggily. "What happened?" She sits up and rubs her eyes. "The last thing I remember is some man coming in here and spewing something about Rumplestiltskin." She jumps up at that. "What do you know? Is my father alright?"_

"_Belle, calm down." He almost laughs and grabs her shoulders, in an attempt to get her to sit back down. "I came in here to see if you were alright. I overheard the Queen and him talking and heard that he had seen you first."_

"_And Rumplestiltskin?"_

"_As far as I know he's still in his castle. Actually, the last I heard was he made a deal with Cinderella and is going to be captured and put in a prison." Belle simply stares at him in curiosity. "What?" He finally asks, feeling uncomfortable from her staring._

"_How close are you to the Queen?"_

"_I just told you that your true love is being tricked into a prison and you're wondering about me?" He asks incredulously. "Not to mention you were almost killed by that pirate earlier." _

"_Rumplestiltskin is not a man easily fooled. If he gets captured it's because he planned to." She states."Now come on please? What's your relationship with the Queen? You hardly seem like the type to work for her."_

_After a moment of silence he finally meets her eyes and takes a deep breath. "She has my heart."_

"_Oh-Oh!" She realizes and gives him a sad smile. "Well, I suppose you can't help who you fall for in the end." _

_He sighs. "No, I mean she literally has my heart. She took it after I failed to bring her Snow White's. I am her servant until she tells me otherwise."_

"_That's awful; you can't just take away someone's free will." She snaps. "What on earth kind of thinking is that?"_

"_Well, it gives her a loyal servant, as long as she has my heart; I can't do anything to disobey her, or risk being tortured." He shrugs, "Or worse, killed."_

"_I'm so sorry Huntsman; I didn't know you were in a similar situation as me."_

"_I'm afraid mine is still a bit different." He chuckles. "You see, I brought this on myself and am taking responsibility for it. The only thing you're guilty of is falling in love and it's for that reason I don't understand why the Queen is doing this to you."_

"_She just genuinely doesn't like me I suppose." She shrugs and falls back onto the bed._

"_She doesn't 'like' anyone, except maybe her father." _

"_Well family is hard to unlike, they can make you angry numerous times, but sometimes they're all you have." She notes thinking of her father back home, and wondering how he was faring without her. She looks to the Huntsman, who has a glazed look in his eyes._

"_Of course I don't mean your immediate family." She stammers. "I mean, I know there are some people who are raised by other people and consider them to be their family, or rose by wolves like you." She remembers reading the stories. He cocks his head. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." He bursts out laughing. "What?" She asks defensively. "What did I say? I'm sorry if I said something that offends you."_

"_It's not that." He assures her, still laughing. "What's that old saying? 'Home is where the heart is?'" _

"_Something like that yes," She notes. _

"_Well that's it then." He gives her a mock bow. "Seeing as you and my heart are stuck here for the time being, I hope you don't mind becoming a part of my family Belle."_

"_Sounds intriguing, but it depends on who else is in it." She crosses her arms and gives him a stern look. She wants to trust him, but if there is any mention of the queen then she's out._

"_My wolf is the only family I've ever needed." He states. "Regina may have my heart, but I never willingly gave it away."_

"_I'm not going to be your mother." _

"_Belle, I'm older than you are." He states. _

"_How rude," She exclaims. "The Queen told you how old I am as well?"_

"_Hardly," He scoffs. "I'm simply good at telling how old people are. I'm about 97% sure that you are in your twenty-third or twenty-fourth year, give or take."_

"…_Impressive," She blinks. "So, who are you to me in this family then?"_

"_Just refer to me as you big brother my lady."_

"_If you're my big brother, why are you suddenly acting like my knight?"_

"_Same thing isn't it?" He shrugs._

"_I wouldn't know. I've never had one before."_

"_I haven't either, but I promise you no longer have anything to fear Belle. I'll protect you by any means necessary." He gives her another bow and walks back over to the door._

_She instinctively jumped off the bed and clutched his sleeve to stop him. "We'll both get out of this Huntsman." He turns to look at her. "I can at least promise you that. We'll find some way to free you." She states and then smiles. "After all, a little sister wants to do her best for her brother right?"_

_He laughs and leans down to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "Of course Belle; I'll talk to you later alright." _

"_You better." She grins. "And thank you, for the book." _

"_It's no trouble Belle; I'm just glad you're enjoying them. Now, I really must be going my Lady." He gives her a salute and disappears through the door._

"_Bye," She calls after him, after the door closes she moves to sit back on her bed and decides to pick a bit at her food and start on the new book her 'brother' grabbed for her._

* * *

_Over the next few weeks, or months, it was getting harder and harder to keep track. The two of them quickly began growing closer. At one point Belle managed to convince him to let her teach him how to dance and they spun and twirled all around her room. He continued to bring her food and new books every day, even managing to sneak in a few of her favorite foods and drinks. At one point he admitted to her that he couldn't read and asked her to teach him. They spent hours on her bed; he never gave up and eventually was able to read through a whole book with her. Sometimes she would admit to having nightmares and he would lie next to her in bed at night and keep her company, or act as her comforter when she woke up and tell her stories of people the Queen told him about. He confessed that his biggest fear was being trapped as the Queen's pet, until he died. He continued to keep her informed of what was going on outside her cage and they began formulating plans on how to escape. _

_Isabelle, or rather Belle, as she had gotten used to was just finishing a book the Huntsman had gotten her, when he walked inside with her usual tray of food. _

"_Afternoon little sis." He moves over to place the tray on her bed and sit down next to her._

"_Is it afternoon already? Gods, I can't even tell in here anymore." She sighs and places the marker in her place in her book and sets it down beside her. "How long have I been here anyways?" _

"_I couldn't tell you even if I did try to count the days." He shrugs, "A little over a year maybe? Or maybe even two?"_

_She looks at him a moment. "You're pouting," She notes. "What is it, what's wrong?"_

_He shifts uncomfortably on the bed. "I've…I've changed my mind on our plan to get out of here." He admits._

"_What? Why?" She asks. "We know where your heart is and if we both get out of here and go to Rumplestiltskin, before he gets captured we can put your heart back where it belongs, you'll finally be free."_

"_I can't risk you getting hurt." He sighs. "If we did miraculously get out of here and somehow get to The Dark One, before he is sent to prison, with you harmed in some way. I don't think he'd be in the mood to listen."_

"_Seeing as he believes me dead, that's hardly an excuse." She states. "Now what's the real reason, and don't lie to me."_

_He takes a deep breath and turns to face her this time. "The Queen is planning on enacting a dangerous curse throughout the land. I don't want to go with our escape plan because I'm afraid that we wouldn't even make it to The Dark One's palace before she sets it loose and ruins our lives that way."_

"_What's this curse she's enacting?"_

_He shakes his head. "All I know is that it's meant to bring unhappiness to everyone but herself and take us all too some new land, without memories from this place."_

"_We all lose our memories?" She almost cries. "Damn it Rumplestiltskin."_

_He blinks. "Why are you cursing him?"_

"_The Queen isn't smart, or powerful enough to create a curse like that." She groans. "The only one who could come up with something like that is him."_

"…_Good point," He remarks. "But there is a plus side to this, depending on your reaction."_

"_And what's that?"_

"_She plans to keep me with her, no real surprise there, but in a position with a bit of power."_

"_She's going to make you a type of Lord?" _

"_I don't really know." He shrugs. "But I have convinced her to keep you close with me." _

"_Like what, as a councilwoman?" She asks incredulously. "How on earth did you manage that? If she plans on taking everyone I'm sure Rumplestiltskin will be there as well."_

"_But without any memories." He points out. "I asked the Queen, and feel free to be mad at me, what would be more fun for her to watch. The Dark One not having any memories and seeing you every day without knowing who you are, or keeping you locked up? I also mentioned that if you are close with me then she would be able to keep an eye on you."_

"_You actually told her this?" She snaps._

"_Belle, for the record she was actually planning on keeping you in prison for the rest of your life." _

"_And I am grateful for the Huntsman really, but you just pointed out more ways she can hurt Rumplestiltskin. If he created the curse then he must have a made a loophole in there ensuring that he'll remember his past."_

_He shakes his head. "There you go again caring more for someone other than yourself."_

"_This coming from the guy who acts like he only cares about himself." She retorts. _

"_I care only for you." _

"…_Thank you Huntsman, really." She lays her head on his shoulder. "And I'm sorry. I'm just scared. I don't want to lose my memories and have to forget about you and Rumplestiltskin. I especially don't want to forget about my promise to help you get your heart back." She begins to feel tears pricking in her eyes. "I love you Huntsman."_

_He smirks. "Aw, but I don't think your true love would be too happy about that."_

_She punches him on the arm and blushes lightly. "I love you, but strictly platonically."_

_He flips her over on her back. "Oh, I don't know, I'm sure I can get you to change your mind. You know, I hear the people who blush frequently are great lovers."_

_She pushes on his chest. "Nice try, but I know you would never do that kind of thing to me."_

"_You're right." He backs off and kisses the top of her head, while holding her close. "I love you too Belle, strictly platonically, of course." _

_They stay like that a few more moments, until she finally sat up right and wipes her tears. "So, when is this all supposed to happen?" _

"_At most, a few months," He replies solemnly. "And I don't think you'll have to worry all that much about The Dark One, better a broken heart then not having one at all."_

"_I don't want to forget you, or him." She murmurs. "You're the only person who's kept me from going insane in this place. You're also the only one who doesn't seem to care that I love Rumplestiltskin. I admit that to the other guards in this place and they all think I'm mad."_

_He laughs at that. "It's your life and I believe you should be allowed to live the way you want." _

"_That's the rule I've tried to live by." She states proudly. "Also I believe if you do the brave thing, bravery will follow." _

"_Those are good concepts to live by."_

"_I also believe that things will get better." She smiles warmly at him. "Whatever happens from now on Huntsman, just know that I'll be there to support you. I'm sure there are friendships like ours that will last even in different worlds. We'll get your heart back and finally free you."_

"_Thank you Belle and I'm sure one day, even in this new world, that you will be reunited with your love." He kisses her on the head again and gets up. "And now my Lady, I really must be going."_

"_I'll talk to you again soon, I'm sure." _

"_That you will, have a good rest of your day Belle." He gives her a bow and leaves the room. _

_Belle waits a few minutes to make sure he had actually left and lies down on her bed. She finally allows the tears to fall freely, Terrified of this new development._

* * *

_She had just finished another book he got for her and was laying on her back trying to count all the tick marks, for the hundredth time, when the Huntsman runs into her room in a panic. "Belle!"_

_She immediately turns and sits up. "Huntsman, what is it, what's wrong?"_

"_It's happening, the curse." He informs her. Her Majesty just left the palace with nearly all her servants and is heading to Lady Snow White's castle."_

"_So it's finally happening." She gulps and clenches her hands into small fists beside her. _

_He holds out a hand. "Come on, if this is going to be our last moments in this world, you shouldn't be spending it trapped in a tower."_

"_I thought I wasn't allowed to leave my room?" She asks teasingly, but gets off the bed to grab his hand, as he leads her carefully out of the room._

"_Seeing as we'll wake up in a land without magic in a few minutes and won't remember any of this, I hardly think it matters." He replies, leading her down the spiral staircase._

_She stops, "A land without magic? Why on earth would she want to go to a place like that?"_

"_Why would the Dark One?" He questions and continues on._

_She simply shakes her head and has to jog in order to catch up with him. "Where are we going anyways?" She asks, as he opens a door and leads her down the long corridor._

"_To where the Queen usually spends her time," He answers and opens the large double doors at the end, leading her inside a very large circular room. To one side there was a large fireplace and a small couch, Straight ahead was a large balcony with a gorgeous view of the outside world, to which she hasn't seen for a very long time, and to the other was a shelf full of books and an odd looking mirror._

_She finally drags her eyes away from the view outside to cock her head and stares at the mirror. "You know ever since I got here, it feels like something is staring at me through the small mirror I do have in my room." She confesses._

_She hears him sigh deeply and turns around to see him open the window to let the fresh air in. "You were always being watched." He admits and turns back around to see the hurt expression on her face. "Not by me." He assures her. "I was ordered not to tell you and for that I'm sorry, but it's not like she ever overheard anything important. I would always make sure that hand mirror of yours was covered."_

"_Yes, I was always wondering about that." She notes and moves over to the window to breathe in the fresh air. She opens her eyes again to see a huge, thick, and almost crackling purple smoke nearing the castle. The Huntsman moves to stand beside her and takes her hand in his. "Is there any hope?" She asks weakly._

"_There is," He grips her hand tightly. "The Dark One prophesized that, in twenty-eight years time, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming would return to save us all from this nightmare."_

"_Twenty-eight years," She muses, as the smoke gets nearer. "But, I suppose, if The Queen promised I'd be with you it shouldn't be too bad."_

"_Your true love will be there as well, you realize?" He almost laughs._

_She shakes her head. "But I won't even know who he is. At least this way I get to stay close to you. I promised to free you from her Huntsman and that's just what I plan to do."_

"_Belle-"_

"_You're my first priority. I'm in love with Rumple, but I love you too. He can handle himself, but you need me and as much as I don't want to admit it, I need you too."_

_The smoke hits the outer courtyard and he turns to hold her close. She buries her head in his chest. "No matter what Belle; I will always be there to protect you. I can promise you that." She hears him murmur, just as the smoke enters the castle and engulfs the two of them._

* * *

Isabelle wakes up in a cold sweat. Sitting up and taking a gulp of air she finds herself in bed in her room, back in the apartment. _'What the hell was that?' _She wonders and takes a good look around. She's wearing her leopard print silk pajamas, her room still looks the same as it always did, books and clothes strewn everywhere and her window, which thankfully had a great view of the town. '_Thank god, I thought I'd never see sunlight again.' _She breathes a sigh of relief. _'But what the hell did I see, was that a memory? I mean the last thing I remember is…Graham.'_ She realizes and quickly throws the covers off herself, just as she sees Ruby run into the room with tears in her eyes. Realizing she must've said Graham's name out loud Isabelle is suddenly tackled back into bed with Ruby's arms thrown around her neck.

"Thank god you're alright, we were all so worried." She cries.

"Ruby I don't-? What's going on, what happened?" She asks.

Ruby just looks up and her and smiles sadly. "You really don't remember do you?" She lets go of her and wipes her tears. "When you went to the Police Station and saw…well Graham died Izzy, I'm so sorry."

After the dream she just had with the two of them, it was far too close to home. Isabelle couldn't hold back any longer and she began sobbing hysterically. This time it was Ruby who held her as she cried and stroked her hair trying to calm her down, as she continues.

"You've been asleep for two days Izzy. Granny and I have been keeping an eye on you to make sure you were alright. Granny wanted to take you to the hospital, but the last thing I wanted was Dr. Whale looking you over as you slept." She jokes weakly. "I finally promised that we could take you if you continued to stay asleep. I'm really glad you're up Izzy, really."

"Too bad I'm not even close to being okay." She continues to cry. "Damn it, I told him to be careful and now he goes and gets himself killed."

"He died from a heart attack Izzy." She explains. "There really wasn't any way for him to know what was going to happen, or any way for Emma to stop it."

"Emma." She sits up sharply. "Damn it, here I am acting weak when she's the one who watched him die. How's she doing?"

"She's doing her job as the new Deputy really well, of course no one saw her the day after Graham's death, but as far as I can tell she's doing her best."

"New Deputy? Ruby, she's been the new Deputy for almost a week."

"No, I mean the official Deputy. After all, aren't you considered the new Sheriff?"

Isabelle sighs and shakes her head. "It doesn't work like that Ruby. It's put up to a vote; I have to be nominated before I have a chance in the running. And, all things considering I'm not even sure I want the job."

"What!" She exclaims, "But why?"

"Ruby, I don't know if I can do it. You know my past. I don't know if I can deal with the mayor like Graham could."

"Yes, but he was also sleeping with her."

"He also stopped her from putting me in a mental institution after my mother died." She snaps and can feel fresh tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

Ruby gasps and covers her mouth. "I…I forgot about that." She admits and swallows hard. "It was never proved that you were ever insane though."

Isabelle lies back down on her back and covers her face with her arm. "Yes it was my father and our mayor both have a copy somewhere. The only reason I was free to live my life was because of Graham and Mr. Gold."

They sit in awkward silence for a few minutes, until Ruby finally stands up. "Well, I know you're not insane and if you don't want to run for Sheriff then you certainly don't have to." She smiles warmly. "You've always lived your life the way you wanted to Izzy and that's exactly what you should do."

"Thanks Ruby." Isabelle sits back up and turns to look out the window. "What time is it?"

"Almost one," She replies stretching her arms over her head.

Isabelle gives her a look. "Shouldn't you be at work? You're already late."

"I hardly thing Granny will mind that I'm a bit late, seeing as though you finally woke up." She points out. "Though, when I do show up and she calls the house to confirm I'm not lying, please pick up the phone."

"I promise." She laughs.

Ruby makes her way over to the door and pauses. "Right, before I forget I wanted to ask you. Did you're plan to seduce Gold ever work out?"

"Ruby!" She exclaims. "I told you before I simply went over to thank him for helping me out the other day."

She leans against the doorframe and looks at her skeptically. "Okay, but since when do you dress up like you did and put food in a picnic basket?"

"I dress like that plenty of times." She protests.

"You hardly ever leave the apartment though."

Isabelle sighs deeply. "What's the point you're trying to make Ruby?"

"I simply want to know if my, hopelessly bad at flirting, roommate progressed anywhere with her crush."

"It was a simple thank you."

"And-?"

"Also, I may have confessed to him and we ended up…kissing a bit." She admits and blushes fervently.

"Ha! I knew it had to be because of something like that." Ruby cheers.

"Am I missing something?"

"Gold's been over here a lot over the past few days to see how you were doing." She explains. "Needless to say, Granny and I were a bit surprised at the concern he actually showed."

"Has it ever occurred to you that he's just as human as the rest of us?" She sighs and finally steps out of bed.

Ruby only shrugs. "I've only ever seen him act like a normal human being around you, so no not really. Also, you may want to call him, and Emma. They've both been pretty worried."

"What about my father?" She asks curiously.

Ruby gives her a sad smile. "I'm sorry Izzy, haven't heard a thing from him."

"Almost get raped by my ex-fiancé one day, go into a small coma because my boss dies the next, and my boyfriend of two days shows more concern for me then my own father." She shakes her head and begins looking for something to wear.

"I'm sorry Izzy."

"It's not your fault Ruby. In fact thank you, for everything." She throws her a smile. "And thank Granny for me too would you?"

"Oh shoot, I have to go." She jumps. "I'll talk to you later Izzy, and I'll bring something home for dinner later." She turns to leave but stops again. "That's right, Granny said if you wake up to tell you to stay in the house for at least another day or two to get your strength back up."

"Don't worry Ruby. I was just going to take a shower, make a few phone calls, and hang out with a book or something." She convinces her friend, who simply nods and races out of her room. "Have a good day." She calls after her, as she hears the front door open and slam close. Chuckling to herself she sits back down on the edge of her bed and begins crying silently again.

About another hour passes and Isabelle's managed to convince Granny that she's feeling better, who did end up calling after finding out that she had woken up, taken a shower, and had gotten something to eat. She's currently lying on her bed, with her chin resting on her arms, and staring at her cell phone. _'Do I tell him? I mean the fact he looks exactly like Rumplestiltskin can't be a coincidence right?' _She argues with herself. Groaning she rolls over on her back and crosses her arms over her face.

"_The Queen is planning on enacting a dangerous curse throughout the land.' _The Huntsman's voice comes to mind again.

'_It was all just a dream.' _She argues with herself, but somewhere in her heart everything was beginning to add up. Why she didn't feel like they belong here. Why she's been having dreams of Mr. Gold, Graham, and herself as different people. Why she was so close to Graham in the first place. _'Argh, why is this all so frustrating?'_ She rolls back over, finally grabs her phone, and sits up. '_Whatever, I'll call him and see where it goes from there.' _She dials his number.

"_Hello, Belle?"_ She recognizes his familiar drawl.

She cringes at the name, after hearing it so often in her dreams. "_Hi R-"_ She's about to call him 'Rumple,' when she realizes she didn't want to say it, and then end up being right. Not when she wasn't sure she wanted to believe it in the first place. _"Richard."_

She hears him laugh. _"I'm afraid that's not my first name either Belle. I thought you could only try guessing my name when we met face to face."_

"_Well I figure a phone call is close enough, after all I can hear your voice." _She shrugs. _"And I have a lot of names to go through you know."_

"_Careful there dearie, I may end up calling you several times a day, simply to have you try and guess." _ The familiarity in his voice to Rumplestiltskin's is impossible to miss. _"How are you feeling?" _He continues.

"_I feel like crap." _She admits and lies back down on her back. _"I'm pretty sure I've cried more tears in the past few hours then I have in ten years." _

"_I'm sorry." _She hears him sigh. _"And I'm sorry to ask, but what exactly happened? You've been out of it for a few days."_

"_I know, and I still don't know what that was about. I left you and had a terrible feeling that something was wrong, so I drove over to the Police Station and I see Emma crying, and holding a murdered Sheriff Graham in her arms."_

"_Murdered? I thought he died from a heart attack?"_

She mentally slaps herself. _"Dead, I mean a dead Sheriff Graham in her arms. Damn dreams have me even more mental. I'm starting to believe that an evil Queen had the Sheriff's heart and crushed it so he died."_

"_Different dreams then the one with you and this…man in a castle." _

She laughs at that. _"Why do you call him man like that?"_

"_You expressed your distaste of calling him a beast."_

"_You're right, thanks for that. But yes, I seem to have added more to the story." _She sighs and isn't exactly sure where to start, but wanting to hear his reaction to some of the more important moments. _"Okay you know that I'm kicked out of his castle and am supposed to be heading home right?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Apparently that didn't happen."_

He almost laughs. _"Why am I not surprised, even in a different life you have a knack for doing the things that you want to do." _

"_Right, well I end up helping Mulan defeat a beast, who actually turns out to be Prince Phillip, you know Princess Aurora's prince? Anyways, I leave the two of them and end up being caught by the Evil Queen, who looks like guess who from Storybrooke?"_

"_Evil Queen, power, and I assume has a superiority complex. If I had to guess I would put my money on our mayor." _He notes, the anger seeping from his voicescaring her a bit.

"_Right, well she captures me and sticks me in a tower for gods know how long. I tried to keep track, but I lost count rather quickly. There was no way for me to tell whether it was night or day. Anyways, eventually someone walked in to give me something to eat and he had an uncanny resemblance to Sheriff Graham."_

She hears him laugh. _"Is there anyone you know in town you haven't seen in these dreams of yours?"_

"_Plenty, but I assume it's simply because I met them in the other land."_

"_Fair point, please continue."_

"_Needless to say the man, who called himself the Huntsman, and I, became very fast and very close friends. I loved him dearly, especially after…" _She trails off, not knowing whether or not to tell him the next bit.

"_Belle, what is it? What happened? The Queen never did anything to you did she?"_

"_Not physically no, but she hurt my heart rather violently."_

"_Belle-"_

She sighs. _"Alright, I woke up one day in a carriage with the Queen. She told me I was still physically in the tower at her palace, but she wanted me to be with her when she went to go and talk to the man who kicked me out." _Isabelle can swear he is holding his breath. She swallows hard and continues. _"When we get to his castle the Queen makes sure that I can't speak and has me follow her inside. We find him spinning his wheel and she asks for his help with something, a mermaid I think. He tells her he's not dealing, so she continues trying to provoke him. Eventually my name comes up." _She gives a fake laugh. _"It turns out my name, even in my dreams, is Belle."_

"_Is…is that so?" _ He asks. She can imagine him sitting down at his desk or somewhere with a hand on his forehead and clutching his phone tightly with the other.

"_I…I try to tune the two of them out, but the Queen makes sure I can hear everything. She…she tells him I'm dead, or rather that my father made me so depressed that I killed myself by jumping out of my tower window. He states she's lying and the Queen makes him angry enough to tell her to get out. I was sent back to my tower the minute she makes the comment that he should get a new girl."_

They are both silent for a few moments. Isabelle is about to speak up when his voice stops her. _"I'm very sorry B…Isabelle that you were forced to watch something like that." _

The mere fact he avoided using her dream name made her grateful, but unsure whether it was more for her, or himself. _"Well, when I was literally thrown back into my body, the Huntsman was there to help me through it. But, you know I think I ended up crying more so because that man didn't have anyone to convince him I was still alive. Though, I think I was also regretting telling him before I left that all he would have left was a chipped cup and an empty heart."_

"_There you go again, caring more for someone else rather than yourself." _She hears him sigh.

She blinks. _"You know it's funny, the Huntsman told me almost the exact same thing when I was concerned about him being forced to be the Queen's slave."_

"_You are just a kind-hearted person by nature, no matter what realm you seem to be living in."_

"_Thanks, but I'm still convinced that these dreams are nothing more then something being wrong with me." _

"_There is nothing wrong with you." _He states immediately. _"Now come on, you were asleep for two days, surely that can't be all you saw?"_

"_There's really not much else to tell. The Huntsman continued bringing me books to read, we agreed to be one another's siblings, made plans to escape, which we never even got to try out because he came running in my room one day talking about some curse that was about to engulf the land."_

"_Curse?"_

"_Yeah, it was something along the lines of everyone in the land would be sent to this awful place, with no magic, and be trapped there with no chance of happily ever after." _She groans and tries to keep her voice level.

"_Sounds awful, was there any way for this 'curse' to be broken?" _

"_The concern in your voice is overwhelming." _She jokes. _"But yes, apparently there was a prophecy made that in twenty eight years time, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming would return to save everyone from the nightmare." _

"_You seriously expect me to believe that this is just a dream?"_

"_What, you think it's real? There's no way we can all be from a different world and not know it for twenty-eight years." _She argues.

"_As I told you before Isabelle; I knew rule out any possibilities."_

"_Thank you for listening, really, but I just…I just don't know." _She sighs deeply. _"I mean even if it was true that means that everything about this town is a lie." _

"_You said so yourself that this place doesn't feel real." _He points out.

"_I know that, but why am I the only one having these weird dreams. I'm not the savior and I'm certainly not special, I'm not strong, I'm not brave. Hell, I broke down in Graham's arms after Michael tried to rape me. And now I'm scared to death of the possibility of becoming Sheriff and having to deal with Regina." _She cries, now more than ever remembering the comfort of being wrapped in his arms and the feeling of being protected.

"_There isn't a person alive who would have been comfortable in that situation." _He argues. _"That doesn't make you weak Isabelle and you hardly have to be afraid of the mayor. Look, maybe your dreams don't mean anything and you don't have to sit here and convince yourself that maybe they do. You've always been an imaginative woman, maybe you've been reading too many fairytales and your mind is coming up with a new one, just revolving around the people you know here. You're not crazy, you're not weak, and I don't want you to think of yourself as such." _

She wipes the tears from her eyes and is now, more than ever, convinced that her dreams are the truth. He wouldn't be trying to convince her to forget them otherwise. He was afraid of what her reaction would be to realizing who he actually is. _"Thank you Mr. Gold, truly." _

"_I won't have any more of this talking down on yourself nonsense Isabelle."_

She wipes away the last of her tears. _"You know you can still call me Belle, I don't particularly mind." _

"_Very well then, Belle is there more to your dream or did you simply wake up after hearing the so called prophecy?" _He asks curiously.

"_There was more." _She admits. _"But it really wasn't much. The Huntsman ran into my room one day and announced that the Queen had enacted her curse. I went up with him to another room to watch it all happen, and when the strange purple smoke engulfed the two of us; I woke up." _

"_That…is one hell of a dream, it's no wonder you slept for two days." _He finally comments. _ "I honestly don't what else to tell you."_

She laughs again. _"You don't have to, I'm just grateful you listened. That and you're making an attempt to help cheer me up."_

"_Is it working?" _

"_Well, you made me laugh. For that alone I'm grateful." _She admits. _"Look, why don't you come over tomorrow and we can try talking like we used to? I would ask if you could come by today, but I need to start sorting things out."_

"_Like calling Emma to figure out what's going on?" _He asks and she can hear the smirking in his voice.

"_That too" _She notes_." Anyways, talk to you again tomorrow?"_

"_Of course."_

She realizes again that he wasn't going to say it, but seeing as she's been in an almost coma since the last time, maybe he didn't think she remembered what happened. _"…I still love you, you know. I haven't forgotten what happened between us the other day."_

She hears him laugh. _"Well I'm glad to hear that, but I wasn't particularly worried."_

"_Liar."_

"_I love you too Belle and will see you tomorrow."_

"_Bye," _She hangs up and throws her phone down in exasperation.

Groaning she lies back and covers her face with her arms. _'That cunning bastard, he knew this whole time. So it's true, this whole place is part of a curse. Twenty-eight years here.' _She laughs. _ 'I've lived longer in Storybrooke then I have back in our land, without even knowing it.' _ She sits back up and can start to feel tears pricking in her eyes again. _'I let you down Huntsman and there are no words for me to describe how sorry I am, but I found him again, my true love, and it turns out he knows we're cursed. I don't know what to do Huntsman and now I'm really scared of working for the Queen. Also, I now realize I'm living with a woman who used to turn into a werewolf every month.' _She sighs and sits back up. _'What the hell am I supposed to do now?"_

She looks over at her phone. _'I suppose the first step is talking to Emma and finding out how she's doing though.' _Picking it back up she calls the Police station.

Emma picks it up after a couple of rings._"Police station, this is Emma."_

"_Emma, it's Isabelle."_

"_Oh my god you're awake, how are you feeling?" _She asks tentatively.

"_Like crap," _She admits and lies back down on her back. _"But, I assume you do as well and I want to apologize for blacking out the way I did."_

"_You really don't have to do that Isabelle that was not something you should've had to see." _

"_Neither should have you." _Isabelle argues. _"Look, I'd be down there right now telling you to go home and rest if Ruby and Granny weren't forcing me to stay in the house for another few days."_

"_As they should,"_ She laughs. _"I'm fine Isabelle, things have been really slow. I think even the jerks who usually cause problems are taking a few days off after Graham's death. Actually I'm starting to get the feeling the whole town is in mourning."_

"_He was loved by all."_

"_And by no one more then you."_

"_Emma, that's not-"_

"_Yes it is Isabelle. The past two days I've been hearing nothing but stories about Graham and 97% of those stories involve the two of you doing something together, or being caught doing something you probably weren't supposed to be doing. I only knew him for a few months, so if anyone deserves to be upset about his death it's you." _

"_Emma, I'm in love with Mr. Gold." _She states. "_I never had any kind of romantic feeling for Sheriff Graham, except as an older brother. We called one another by rank because we were attempting to be professionals. I'm not sure whether that's what you were implying, but I want to get that out there."_

"_You're in love with Gold!?" _She exclaims. _"I figured you were in love with Graham and just prepared for him not to love you back…sorry about that Isabelle."_

"_Yes, now that that's cleared up, can we move on?" _She sighs.

"_Right, well my point still stands that you deserve to be the one most upset. And…there's still the matter of the last thing he managed to say-"_

Isabelle stops her there, _"Please don't, I can't hear them, not yet."_

"_Alright, I get it, it's too soon."_

"_It's not exactly that, I've only been up for a few hours and I'm still trying to grasp what's going on. Look, why don't you call or come over some time tomorrow and tell me what he said?"_

"_That sounds alright, I'll do that then."_

"_On another note, any news about Michael?" _She asks, deliberately trying to change the subject and get the news about her ex-fiancé.

Emma groans. _'I'm pretty sure he and his father are the only family actually trying to take advantage of the fact our moral is down a bit."_

"_What's happened?"_

"_His father comes in and starts arguing with me that you assaulted his son and then after a few hours of interrogation I get him to confess that he was in the damn house when Michael knocked you out, and that he helped his son take you to that warehouse." _She snaps. _"What kind of sick family, I just gah-"_

"_Why do you think I called the whole thing off?" _Isabelle laughs and finally stands back up, in order to get something to drink.

"_I'm sorry for asking, but what the hell made you agree to be his wife in the first place?"_

"_Emma, I honestly don't have an answer for you. I really don't understand it myself." _She sighs and gets out the ingredients she needs in order to make some tea.

"_Well anyways, he'll be in jail shortly and his trial shouldn't take too long. After that, well you know the system better than I do."_ She jokes. _"Just have a restraining order issued and it'll be very unlikely that you'll have to ever deal with him again." _

"_Thanks Emma, for everything."_

"_Don't even worry about it." _She insists. _"Look, I'll talk to you tomorrow alright. Would you rather I call or come over?"_

"_It really doesn't matter. It's not like I'm going anywhere, anytime you feel like talking to me tomorrow."_

Emma laughs at that. _"Alright bye Isabelle, and get some rest."_

"_What do you think I've been doing for the past few days?" _She argues, as Emma laughs and hangs up the phone.

Isabelle sighs and pockets her phone, before continuing with her task. _'Well at least our savior doesn't appear to be too bad of a woman, even if she doesn't have any idea as to who she really is.' _She notes and digs out her favorite cookies from the pantry to have with her tea. _'Yet that still leaves me with the question, how the hell do I remember? True love's kiss should be the obvious answer, but I still didn't remember everything until after I saw Graham dead in Emma's arms." _ She shakes that memory out of her head and walks into the living room to enjoy her snack. _'Maybe true love works in more ways than one. I love Rumple to no end, but I loved Graham too. In a different way of course, but maybe the tragedy of seeing him dead, finally made that, already very thin line, stopping me from believing, finally snap and give me back my memories.' _ She sets her plate down and moves over to the shelf, in order to look for a movie to watch. _'Or maybe I'm thinking too much about it and the True Love's kiss was just a bit delayed.' _She muses and grabs a movie and puts it in, trying to take at least a few hours to relax.

* * *

Hours later Ruby walks back into the apartment to see Isabelle, on the floor, wrapped up in a few blankets, and throwing pretzels at the TV yelling, "That's not how it happened."

She only sighs and walks into the living room. "What on earth are you watching this time to make you so mad?"

"It's not on purpose." She murmurs.

"Izzy you always get mad at movies when they don't exactly follow the books, remember how upset you were about the Harry Potter movies."

Isabelle sighs and turns to face her. "It wasn't that they didn't follow the books, to an extent, it was that they cut out some of my favorite moments from the books."

"Right, that was the reason." Ruby laughs and lies down beside her. "So what are you watching and why? I never find you watching a movie by yourself; usually I have to drag you out of your room to watch one with me."

"I felt like crap and I was hoping a movie would cheer me up, even if only for a few hours." She admits and hands her the DVD case. "Also, I found a collection of Disney movies I didn't know we had and have been watching them all afternoon it appears, seeing as you're home."

"Nah, Granny let me off early to come and see how you were doing." She shrugs and reads the title, "Cinderella? I didn't even know we had this movie."

"Neither did I."

"So what is it about this movie that makes you think it's wrong?" She questions, as the movie ended.

"…You're going to think it's dumb." She murmurs, sitting up in order to take the disk out.

"Izzy, I'm not going to make fun of you for reading a story telling a different version. After all most movie adaptions are based off the books right?"

"This wasn't based off a book. It's based off a dream I had about a week ago."

"Oh," she blinks, but brushes it off. "Well whatever, you can still tell me."

"Alright…um, I only ever see bits and pieces but I know that the fairy godmother doesn't help her. Rumplestiltskin shows up and kills her and Cinderella ends up making a deal with him that she doesn't understand. She ends up marrying her prince and at the wedding celebration Rumplestiltskin returns to tell her that her price is her first-born child. She tells Thomas, her husband, and they formulate a plan to capture Rumplestiltskin. It works, in the end, but the price for capturing him is that Thomas disappears and she's left to rule the kingdom alone and pregnant." She finishes and Ruby only looks at her blankly, as if trying to figure something out.

"I thought the imp taking the first born child was the Miller's Daughter story." She finally comments.

Isabelle starts laughing. "I tell you a dream I had about the fairytale Cinderella and that's all you have to say about it?"

Ruby only shrugs. "You've always had one hell of an imagination. There's nothing wrong with that and in any case I like your story better. It only proves the point don't agree to something unless you fully understand the consequences."

"So you don't think it's crazy?"

"Why would I think that?"

"This is exactly why I love you Ruby."

"I love you too Izzy." She grins and steals one of her blankets. "Got any more twisted stories to share?"

"Well there's one where I dream that little Red Riding Hood is actually the wolf and ends up killing her own boyfriend." She approaches this story cautiously.

"That sounds horrible, that poor girl." She gapes and takes a handful of pretzels from the bowl. "Do share."

* * *

The next day, after Ruby left for work. Isabelle had finally finished cleaning the living room from the mess the two of them had made the night before, when she hears a knock on the door. Drying her hands she throws the towel over her shoulder and moves over to answer it. "Hello, can I help-"She opens the door and stops mid sentence when she sees Mr. Gold staring back at her. She had planned to invite him in first, but everything from the day before came flooding back and she found herself throwing her arms around his neck and bursting into tears.

He doesn't say anything and simply wraps his arms around her and lets her cry on his shoulder. Eventually he pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to her. "Damn, and here I thought you would've ran out of tears." He smirks.

She knows he's joking and silently thanks him for attempting to cheer her up. "I'm afraid I've got plenty more. After all, this is about Sheriff Graham and I did love him." Drying her eyes she finally lets him go of and leans up to kiss him softly, before grabbing his hand and leading him inside.

"No, and I suppose you won't be for a very long time." He notes, as she closes the door behind them. "How are you doing?"

"Well I thought I was doing better, but after that little episode out in the hall I guess not as well as I thought." She sighs and falls into his arms.

"You're doing the best you can Belle, that's all you really can do." He wraps his arms around her again. "I don't think any of us were expecting that to happen to him though. He was a good man and will be greatly missed."

"You're just looking for things to say aren't you?" She laughs weakly and buries her head in his chest.

"I really am." He sighs and kisses the top of her head. "I'm sorry; I'm out of practice when it comes to things like this."

"Well then, it's a good thing I understand that and am simply thankful you're trying." She smiles warmly up at him and reaches up to kiss him again.

"So, anymore dreams, or have they finally calmed down?" He asks her, after the need for air became inevitable and they broke apart.

"Nothing really significant last night, but I did see more of the time I spent in the 'Dark Castle,' as he called it." She shrugs. "Also, before I forget." She punches him hard in the arm.

"What on earth was that for?" He cries rubbing where she had hit it.

"I know you're not the man in my dreams, but since you look exactly like him I'm punching you." She states and smiles when he gives her an incredulous look. It was even better knowing that he didn't know she remembers everything. "There was a point in your castle with me cleaning the room, where you made your potions, and you slipping a tonic in my drink every night. I won't go into details, but I know it was your fault."

He smirks in a way she knows he recalls the memory. "If you're so sure that's a different man, then why are you punishing me?"

"It's because you look and sometimes act so much like him that I'm punishing you." She laughs and moves to two of them into the living room to sit down.

He was still rubbing his arm. "You say I remind you of him, yet you still don't know either of their names."

"I don't know your name yet." She points out. "Which reminds me, I still haven't had my guess today have I?"

"No, you haven't." He notes and turns to face her. "So dearie, what's my name?"

She thinks about telling him his real name, but quickly decides against it. With everything still going on she didn't want him to know she knew quite yet. "Daniel," She finally comes up with.

He laughs darkly. "As if our dear madam mayor would want anyone in this town to be called that name."

"What does the mayor have to do with your name?" She asks, knowing that was probably the appropriate reaction to his statement.

"Nothing love, just a little inside joke." He assures her.

She blushes slightly at him calling her that and continues. "Well it still doesn't matter; I'll guess your real name eventually, unless it really is just Mr. Gold?"

"I assure you I have a first name, but it's certainly not a common one."

"Hey, I told you no hints."

"That was hardly a hint." He protests. "There are plenty of uncommon names out there."

"Fine, it was a subtle hint that you didn't think I'd catch." She argues.

He grins. "It was, in no way, a hint love."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Very much so."

She only sighs and leans back in the couch. "You can be the biggest child…but I end up still loving you anyways." She lays her head on his shoulder. "I was going to make us something to eat, do you want to come and help me?"

"No, I thought I'd sit out here and be bored."

She laughs again, grabbing his arm in the process. "Come on then." They get up and walk into the kitchen.

* * *

"…Can I confess something to you?" She asks him tentatively. They were sitting back on the couch, after enjoying their meal, and simply enjoying one another's company. Her head was resting on his shoulder, with one hand twined with his, and the other resting on her thigh.

"What is it Belle?"

"I don't want to be Sheriff."

"Well that could be interesting, seeing as you're the only one in this town who's even qualified for the job." He notes. "Besides, I thought you liked working at the Sheriff's Station?"

"I…I do and I don't." She clutches his hand tighter. "I like the almost adventure part of it, but at the end of the day I think you're right. I would rather sit in my apartment and settle down with a good book."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I was thinking about nominating Emma for the position. Honestly, I don't even know if I can work there as deputy anymore. I'm thinking about resigning."

"You're really going to leave the order of the town to a woman who hasn't been working for you a week?" He asks. "You know Regina will just nominate one of her own people to take the position if you decline."

"Oh please, Regina will nominate one of her own people, even if I do run." She scoffs. "The last thing that woman wants is for me to be sheriff. Graham was hers, but she's fully aware that I am not."

"Still, you thinking about quitting is a surprise."

"Is it though?" She wonders out loud. "I mean we both know I've been loyal to Graham since the beginning. I feel that's one of my main reasons for having stayed as long as I did."

"That and for the feeling of adventure when you go out on a call, in the middle of the night, in the forest looking for your boss?" He adds.

She recalls the memory and shakes her head. "I knew that was you on the phone, how the hell did you watch him leave the bar and follow him into the forest, only to wait until he had started taking his clothes off and dancing around, to call me?"

"I left shortly after I had the general area of where he was. I didn't know that he was going to do what he did and scar you for the rest of your life." He protests.

"Why on earth were you following him anyways?"

"Call it, being curious as to where the Sheriff was going in the middle of the night."

"And making it an anonymous call?"

"Did you really expect me to tell you who I was and act like a concerned citizen?" He smirks.

She slaps his arm again. "You try and act like this bad guy, but in the end you're just a big softie aren't you?"

He laughs at that. "Yeah, good luck trying to spread that one around dearie. You may somehow see through me, but to everyone else, I still hold the power in this town."

"There's the Mr. Gold I grew up with." She laughs.

He's about to respond when they both hear a gentle knock at the door. "Expecting someone?" He asks and feels her tense up. "Belle, what is it, what's wrong?"

"It…it's nothing, I asked her to come over." She murmurs and stands up. He grabs her arm and pulls her down for a kiss, before letting her go and get the door. _'If he really thought that was supposed to calm me down.' _She sighs inwardly. _'But at least I know he cares.' _She opens the door to see Emma standing awkwardly in front of her, in her police uniform, and hand up, as if about to knock again. "Good afternoon Emma." She smiles weakly and moves aside. "Won't you come in?"

"Thanks Isabelle, how are you-"She cuts off mid sentence as she sees Mr. Gold walk into the hallway to stand next to Isabelle.

"Ah, hello Ms. Swan."

"Gold."

Isabelle sighs, but knows that the two of them will most likely never get along and turns to Emma. "So, you decided to come and tell me in person?"

"Uh yes and…I wanted to let you know that his funeral is tomorrow at 2:00." She smiles sadly and rubs the back of her head. Isabelle just looks at her. "I know we got it organized pretty quickly. The whole town's been extremely helpful and…most of them want you to say something tomorrow."

Isabelle backs up into Gold's chest. "People want me to say something? You all do realize that I'm going to be a wreck tomorrow right?"

"I don't think anyone expects you to not be crying Isabelle." She points out. "But you are still the person who knew Graham best."

"I-"

"You'll end up saying something regardless, you may as well just agree." Gold points out.

"She doesn't have to do anything if she doesn't want to." Emma states.

"No, but he's right. I want to say goodbye to him, so yes, I'll come up with something." She smiles sadly. "I won't guarantee that it'll be great, but I'll do the best I can."

"That's all anyone will expect from you." Gold assures her.

"If you're sure Isabelle, again the service will start at two."

"We'll both be there." She states firmly, "But I know you're here for another reason."

"Yes I am, before Graham…passed, he mentioned you." Emma admits, her eyes flickering to Gold for a moment. "I'm sure he would've wanted me to pass his message onto you."

"Right, I should get going. Isabelle I'm sure you want to hear this alone." He moves over to the door, but she grabs the cuff of his sleeve to stop him.

"Please…please don't go." She murmurs, not even able to look him in the eyes.

He reads the nervousness of her statue and turns to Emma. "Ms. Swan?"

She only shrugs. "I don't mind if she doesn't."

He nods and takes Isabelle's hand in his. "I promise Isabelle I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." He assures her and she loosens her grip. "Shall we move into the other room?"

"That would probably be better."Emma sighs and follows the two of them out of the hall and into the living room, where they sat down on the couch and Emma moved over to sit in the chair across from them. "I first want to make it clear that it wasn't easy making out what Graham was trying to say, so some of it may not make much sense." She admits.

"As in you didn't understand what he was saying, or what he said didn't make sense to you?"Isabelle asks curiously.

"I really don't know, but maybe it'll make sense to you." They both look at her expectantly and she takes a deep breath before continuing. "He said, 'I remember Belle, now it's your turn to figure out where you truly need to be. Thank you for everything little sister and I'm sorry.'"

Isabelle is holding Gold's hand tightly now. "Damn it Graham, what am I supposed to be remembering?" She cries, though already knowing what it was, and a part of her is happy he remembered his true self before he passed.

Emma gives her a sympathetic look. "I'm really sorry Isabelle, but that's all he said."

"He was dying, I'm surprised he managed to say that much." Isabelle smiles weakly.

"I'm not." Gold states. The two of them turn to look at him. "That man's always been good at saying what needs to be said in a bad situation."

"Yes, though it's a shame I don't understand what he's trying to tell me."

"You will eventually."

She smirks at him. "You act as though you know what he was talking about."

"Of course I don't, but it's clear he wants you to remember something." He scoffs. "You'll remember, you always do."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence." She laughs and turns back to Emma. "Thank you, for telling me. Though, I'm surprised you thought I was in love with him, even though it was clear that he thought of me as a little sister."

"Again, I thought you were in love with him, not the other way around." She sighs and looks at both of them in turn. "But now I can see that I was wrong. You two are clearly a thing."

"I don't understand why that's the saying when two people are together. We are not things, or objects." Gold sighs, causing the girls to start laughing.

"If I were you I'd just roll with it Gold." Emma shakes her head and stands up. "Anyways, I should get back to the station. I'm truly sorry again Isabelle and I'll see you tomorrow."

Isabelle starts to stand up. "Here let me walk you-"

"It's alright Isabelle, I can see myself out." She smiles. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, bye," she waves, before Emma disappears around the corner and they hear a door open and close. "I think we made her uncomfortable."

"You're surprised?" He asks standing up and placing one arm on the small of her back. "After all, this whole time she thought you were in love with Graham."

"Did anyone else in town believe that?" She asks curiously. "I mean I know it probably looked that way to a lot of people, but there really wasn't anything like that between us."

"I'm sure you could clarify that to people tomorrow if you so choose." He points out.

She groans. "That's right, what on earth am I going to say?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out." He kisses the top of her head. "Do you want me to stay, or would you rather I get out of here before your roommate returns from work?"

"It's up to you, but I won't be held responsible for whatever happens." She laughs and finally pulls away from him, only to turn around and wrap her arms around his neck.

"And what, may I ask, are you thinking will happen?"

"Ah, now there's the question."

"Belle-"

"Actually, I've changed my mind. I need to talk to Ruby about tomorrow and figure out what I want to say, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She cuts him off.

"And to think twenty minutes ago you were begging me to stay." He gives her a mock pout.

She holds him tighter and buries her head in his chest. "Yes, and thank you for that, as much as you probably don't think so…I needed you."

He sighs, reaching out to bring her chin up and kisses her forehead lightly. "Whatever it is he was trying to tell you Belle, I'm sure you'll remember soon."

"Thanks," She pulls away and wipes away the few stray tears left in her eyes. "I'm sure you're right. And who knows, maybe I'll remember later tonight as I'm trying to figure out what to say."

"There you go." He laughs. "Try not to stress about tomorrow please, you'll do fine."

"I won't, promise." She assures him and they walk hand in hand into the hallway. "So, how do you want to show up tomorrow? I did tell Emma we'll both be there. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"I'll come by around one to come and pick you up, if that's alright?" He asks, as she opens the door. "Since I presume you want to go early?"

"Yes, I do. Are you sure?"

"Like you said, you told Emma we'd both be there. I promise I'll be here to pick you up tomorrow." He assures her and makes his way out.

"Very well I'll see you tomorrow." She smiles warmly. "Oh, wait a minute." She grabs his arm and pulls him down for a kiss. "If you really think I was going to let you leave without a goodbye."

He laughs and finally makes his way out the door. "Simply couldn't help yourself could you?"

"Nope, but now it really is goodbye." She waves.

"See you Belle." He waves back at her, as he makes his way down the hall and disappears around the corner.

* * *

Around 1 the next day Gold knocks on Isabelle's door and its Ruby who answers, looking like she had just gotten out of bed. "Good afternoon Ms. Lucas." He greets. Ruby only crosses her arms and leans against the door. "I'm looking for Isabelle, is she still here?"

"In her room getting ready," She gestures behind her. "She'll be ready in a few minutes, but in the meantime I want you to know something." She leans forward to poke him in the chest and look him in the eyes. "Look, I've never cared who she's gone out with as long as they make her happy, but I'm going to give you the same warning. Hurt Izzy in any way and I will come after you. I don't care how much power you hold in this town."

"I can assure you Ms. Lucas I have no intention of hurting her." He smirks, admiring the girl's bravery and loyalty to her friend. "Though, I probably just said the same thing Michael did when the two of them were together."

"Yeah, you did."

He sighs. "I apologize then, but I have given you more reasons to trust me."

"Yeah, so did Michael."

"Ruby, leave him alone." Ruby turns around at Isabelle's voice and Gold looks around her to see Belle walking over to them, wearing a simple black dress that stopped just above her knees, black gloves that went up to her elbows, a pair of black boots, and her hair was done up in a bun, with stray stands of her chestnut hair falling in her face. "You know I trust Rikkon with my life."

"Rikkon?" Ruby asks and turns to him again. "That's your first name?"

He chuckles. "I'm afraid that's not my name either Isabelle."

"Damn it."

Ruby looks from one of them to the other in confusion. "Okay, so why are you trying to guess his first name Izzy? Shouldn't he have at least told you that much?"

"It's part of a deal Ruby, nothing to worry about." Isabelle assures her friend. When Ruby simply raises an eyebrow she continues. "It was my idea, if I manage to guess his name I'll finally agree to come and work for him in his shop." Ruby opens her mouth to protest, but she interrupts. "And no, that has nothing to do with my decision, as I told you last night, I've made my choice." Isabelle grabs her bag off the table and turns back to Gold, smiling. "Are you ready to go?"

He nods his head slightly. "I'm ready whenever you are Isabelle."

She moves over to him and takes his hand, before turning back around. "See you later Ruby."

"I'll be sure to go by later before work." Ruby waves back, before Isabelle closes the door behind them and make their way down to his car.

"What on earth was that all about?" He asks her, as they get into his car and drive off.

"I'm quitting." She states simply. "I'm no longer going to be Deputy and furthermore, I'm not going to be Sheriff."

"And your roommate doesn't agree with that?"

"She's fine with whatever I choose to do, but she doesn't understand why I'm doing this." She sighs and leans her head against the window and recalls Graham's last words. "Try to figure out where you truly need to be…you know I never told her what he said."

"So if you don't think the police station is where you belong?" He asks curiously. "If I may ask, where do you think you belong?"

She wanted to tell him that she belonged wherever he was, but being far too proud and stubborn she faces forward again. "I don't really know, but Ruby and I got into a small argument last night. We made up of course, but she kept trying to convince me that Graham would've wanted me to stay and do my best as Sheriff."

"You think otherwise?"

"I think, that Graham wants me as far away from Regina's control as I can be." She admits.

"Going to be a bit hard isn't it? Considering she nearly runs everything in this town." He tries pointing out, as they turn onto the dirt road leading up to the cemetery.

"This from the man who owns everything in town?" She jokes. "She may run the town, but I've known for a long time who's running it Gold."

"Fair point Ms. French, but I do hope you realize that I'm willing to drop this deal between us and gladly welcome you to come and work for me." He brings up again.

"I told you before; I'm not just going to give up our bet. The day I guess your first name will be the day I start working for you." She states. "Besides, I already know a few facts that will narrow the field considerably."

"And what facts are those?"

She glares at him," Well you gave me the first one, your name is unique. The second is that it starts with an R."

"And how on earth do you know that?" He smirks, with humor clear in his voice.

"I've arrested you before remember? I still have that file on you and on everything you sign you put R. Gold." She laughs.

"Fair point, but unless you plan to really dig, you are never going to figure it out."

'_I already have Rumple.' _Grinning inwardly she turns back to look out the window, as they turned into Storybrooke's cemetery. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see eh?"

"Yes, I suppose we will." He snickers and suddenly stops the car and growls. "A part of me hopes I'm wrong Belle, but I do believe the man leaning against that wall to our left is your father."

She turns around to look in the direction he points out and, sure enough, sees her father leaning against the wall, as if waiting for someone. "Oh…yeah that's him." She murmurs. On one hand she sees a father she hasn't actually talked to since Rumplestiltskin took her to his castle, and on the other her cursed memories recall a drunken father who led her to finally leave and live with Granny and Ruby for nearly ten years. "What do you think? Forgot the actual time for the funeral, or drunk and is visiting my mother?" She asks him, as he parked and they got out of the car.

"My money's on the latter." He replies simply.

She wonders vaguely how he feels about this version of her father, but shakes it out of her head quickly and takes his hand. "20 bucks says he simply forgot what time the funeral was and that he's sober right now."

"You're on, but only if you're sure you want to talk to him Belle."

"I'm sure," She assures him and leads him over to where her father was standing. It was only when the couple were standing directly in front of him that Moe looked up. "Hello Father."

"Isabelle!" He remarks and shakes his head. "I'm sorry girl I must've dozed off."

She can smell no alcohol on his breath and he seemed to be in the right state of mind. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes flicker to Gold once and he turns back to his daughter. "Same thing you're here for, the Sheriff's funeral. I couldn't remember whether the blasted thing started at one or two, so I came early. After all, better safe than sorry." He shrugs. Isabelle turns around to face Gold and smiles triumphantly, who only sighs and shakes his head. "Isabelle," Her father continues, "What are you doing here with him?"

"I asked him to come with me today, because I need someone by my side." She clutches Gold's hand tightly.

"So without even asking your Fiancé, you decide to go with the town's monster?" He asks angrily. "Or did he miraculously let you go with Gold?"

"I can go with whoever I damn well pl-wait a minute, fiancé?"

"Yes, I know Michael's in jail now, for reasons he wouldn't tell me, but he assures me that the two of you are still engaged to be married." He tells her. "That's why I gave him one of the roses in my shop you like so much. You know the ones that can lull you into a blissful sleep?"

"You what-?" Both Gold and Isabelle exclaim.

"You're the one who gave him the drug to knock me out?" Isabelle asks furiously, before Gold could open his mouth again. "Do you have any idea what I went through in that place?" She attempts to move closer to him, but Gold holds her back.

"What's going on over here?" They all turn to see Regina walking over, Emma not too far behind. "Ms. French, is there something you are trying to do to your father?"

Isabelle clenches her free hand into a tight fist. "Not at all ma'am; I simply wanted to tell him goodbye and go on to look for Emma." She responds through clenched teeth. "I'll talk to you again soon father."

Gold leans down to whisper in her ear. "I'll talk to them, go try and cool off." He lets go of her hand.

"Thanks," She murmurs and moves on to grab Emma's wrist, leading her away.

* * *

When the two are a good distance away from them Isabelle lets go of her wrist and takes a deep, calming breath. "What the hell was all that about?" Emma asks, confusion written all over her face. "I was arguing with Regina one minute and the next she's walking away to stop you from doing what, slapping your father? If anything he probably would've deserved it, after what you've told me."

"I haven't told you nearly enough." Isabelle sighs and turns to punch a tree as hard as she can, letting some of her anger out. "As it turns out, my father is the one who gave Michael the flower that knocked me out the day he and his father captured me. Worse, he still thinks that I'm going to marry that bastard."

Emma just stares at her, jaw dropped. "Doesn't he know what he almost did to you?"

"I doubt it." She growls, leaning up against the tree and crossing her arms over her chest. "Michael's father probably told him a different story and, of course, my father would believe him."

"I would've slapped him anyways, even if Regina walked over to stop me." Emma snorts. "You're the last person I would've expected to let the mayor stop you."

"Emma, I can't."

"Look, I know he's your father but-"

"No Emma, I mean I legally can't." She laughs, without humor. "I legally cannot touch my father. My mother died when I was ten and while my father turned to Alcohol; I turned to violence. After a year of dealing with his crap, I snapped and took my anger out on him. While I left some good bruises on him; I was diagnosed as being legally insane because of my father. If Sheriff Graham and Mr. Gold hadn't helped me out; I would probably be in the insane asylum under the hospital today."

"That's a little extreme isn't it?" She asks, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "What on earth did you do?"

"I lived with Granny and Ruby and caused a hell of a lot of trouble, until I was sixteen and after a strict straightening out from Graham and Gold I did my best to clean my record. Two years later I made an attempt to move back in with my father, who was still drinking at the time, and I didn't even last six months. I moved into an apartment with Ruby and have been living there ever since."

"So you're trying to tell me, after all this time, you still can't go against your father?"

"If I so much as slap him I could be sent to jail." She sighs. "Trust me; the mayor would make sure of it."

"That's insane!"

"You're telling me." Isabelle smirks, looking back over to her father, Regina, and Gold, looking like they were in the middle of an argument. "In the end the only people I can trust are Mr. Gold, and my friends."

"Gold being in a different category?" Emma teases.

"I've already lost Sheriff Graham; I won't let the same happen to my own boyfriend." She states. '_Not after Graham told me to figure out where I belong and stay there.'_

"Graham died from a heart attack Isabelle; there was nothing that could've been done." Emma tries insisting.

'_No, Graham died because the Queen doesn't like sharing her toys.' _Isabelle sighs inwardly. "Regardless, I'm not going to lose Mr. Gold as well."

"Why do you still call him that, if you two are together?" She asks curiously, as an attempt to slightly change the subject. "Surely he told you his first name?"

"It's part of a deal we have going on." She laughs. "I have to guess his first name, if I do that I've agreed to go and work for him in his shop."

Emma stares at her again. "You're about to become sheriff and you've agreed to take another job?"

"You do realize, guessing his first name could take years on my part?" She points out; hiding the fact she already knows it. "Actually, I still need to tell you something Emma."

"And I need your help later at the station." She cuts in. "If you want after the service we can go down to the station and talk there."

"Of course, we can talk later." She smiles and pushes herself off the tree. "Also, I'm sorry about dragging you away from Regina earlier."

Emma shakes her head. "It's fine, if anything you helped me. Regina was the one who came up to me, complaining about the lack of flowers and lace, or something like that."

"Our Queen is never happy with anything planned." Isabelle laughs. "Don't even worry about it Emma, everything will go just fine."

"Yes, you have a very nice and simple layout." Gold comes up behind Emma. "It's exactly the kind of funeral Sheriff Graham would've wanted." He continues, as he makes his way over to stand beside Isabelle.

"Yes, I thought as much." She almost smiles. "I'll talk to you later Isabelle."

"Talk to you later Emma." Isabelle calls after her, as she makes her way back down to where Regina was standing next to her father. "Do I even want to know what happened?"

He sighs. "I tried to explain, calmly, about what Robert actually did to you and Regina kept insisting that you were dreaming it. Your father seemed to take her side, claiming that Michael could never do something so vile."

"You're surprised?"

"Not particularly, but your father was more interested in the fact that the two of us came together. In response, I told him that I think I'm allowed to take my girlfriend to a friend's funeral." He states.

She laughs and lays her head on his shoulder, watching as more and more people started coming. "Bet he wasn't too happy about that."

"Well he certainly wasn't too pleased." He agrees, "Kept insisting that you were cheating on Michael."

"If only he realized that when we were dating it was the other way around." She scoffs. "How did the mayor take it?"

"Well, she went very pale." He chuckles. "I think the last thing she expected was the two of us getting together."

"_Yeah, I bet.' _She thinks, knowing the last thing the Queen ever expected was the two of them to get back together, let alone in their cursed states. "Well it was a surprise for me too you know." She grins and takes his hand again. "Are you ready to join the others?"

"If we must," He sighs.

"I am speaking you know, sorry if I'm making you do something the great dealmaker doesn't want to do." She teases and leads him away.

He stops for a moment and cocks his head slightly. "What did you just call me?"

She turns back around and silently curses herself. Dealmaker was what people used to call him in their land. "Dealmaker…sorry, is that not what you're usually called?" She fakes innocence, as he only shakes his head. "Huh, well sorry. I must've heard that name somewhere else then." He gives her a hard look, she only smiles and pulls him towards her again. "C'mon, or we're going to be late."

"Right," He muses, but always her to drag him over to the crowd that was beginning to form.

* * *

The service went as well as anyone could've expected the coffin holding Graham's body was brought out and buried into the ground. Several people spoke up of how great of a man he was and many of the residents were in tears. Isabelle never let go of Gold's hand and when Emma asked her to come and say something she gripped his hand tightly, before letting go and moving to stand beside his grave.

"I want to start by saying that Graham was one of the best people I ever knew. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we will miss him dearly. He helped me when I needed someone the most and he wasn't afraid to tell me what I needed to hear, even if I did leave him with a few bruises. I'm not even going to sugarcoat how much of a pain in the ass I was as a kid and I'm aware of it, but he set me straight." She admits and already feels fresh tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. "I loved him and I still do, but in the way a sister loves her brother. We fought constantly, and on more than one occasion we were so mad at each other we would get into a physical fight. But, as I would hope siblings do, we made up and went back to joking around. If there was one person I could trust the most it was Sheriff Graham, he was the best Sheriff this town's ever had and will always be remembered." She allows the tears to finally fall. "We once made a promise to protect one another, and though people keep insisting there wasn't anything I could've done, I'm sorry Sheriff. I truly am." She smiles weakly, with tears still falling down her face and walks back over to Gold, who only wraps his arms around her tightly and lets her cry into his chest.

The rest of the service went smoothly, though Isabelle continued crying into Gold's chest and when Archie said a final farewell for all of them. The coffin was buried into the ground and covered over. "I told him the day he died that if something happened to him then I wouldn't forgive him." She murmurs so low he almost didn't catch it.

"And have you?"

"Kind of hard not to when, in this case, it wasn't necessarily his fault." She replies, _'After all, it's not his fault the Queen decided she was finished with him.'_

"Yes, and I suppose, even in the end, his concern was for you." He muses and kisses the top of her head.

"He babied me is what he did." She laughs weakly and turns back towards the gravestone. "I love you Sheriff Graham and I'll never forget everything you've done for me," _'In this world and the other.'_

The two of them continue to stand in front of his grave, long after most people began dispersing. "Are you still going with Ms. Swan back to the station?" He finally asks after awhile, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes, sorry have I kept you from something?" She asks worriedly.

"Not at all, I was simply curious." He assures her. "That and I wanted to know if that's the reason she's walking over here now."

She turns around to see Emma, sure enough, walking over towards the two of them. "Yes and I'm sorry for leaving you, but there are probably a lot of files that she needs help finishing-"

"And you wanted to make sure that, when you quit, Ms. Swan won't be overloaded." He finishes for her.

"Of course," She exclaims. "I'd feel terrible if I just left her with a mound of paperwork that Graham and I were simply too lazy to finish."

"Oh I don't know, leave the, soon to be Sheriff, busy and out of the way sounds like a good idea to me." He jokes.

She slaps his chest lightly, "You're horrible."

"A simple joke love, nothing more."

"I don't know, with your record it's hard to be certain." He pretends to be hurt by her comment in a very Rumplestiltskin way that only makes her smile and lean up to kiss him. "I'm only kidding, talk to you tomorrow?"

"I would certainly hope so." He grins and finally lets her go. "Good luck with the files."

"They won't know what hit them." She laughs and waves goodbye, before jogging over to meet Emma.

* * *

"Damn Isabelle, when did you come back in this morning?" Emma asks walking into the office early the next morning.

"I never left." She replies solemnly "It's amazing what caffeine can do for you at four in the morning."

"Did you ever actually sleep?"

"I think I got about twenty minutes between 2 and 3 this morning." She yawns. "I've had a bunch of forms that needed to be filled out."

"For what?" She asks in disbelief, walking over to pick up one of the many papers precariously stacked up on Isabelle's desk.

"To make sure that you are in the running for Sheriff and that most of these old cases are finished." She yawns again and finishes signing another form, before adding it to the pile. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you last night, but I'm quitting. Today will be my last day."

"You're what? Why?" She protests and moves her arm a bit too far out, causing Isabelle's pile to fall and leave papers flying everywhere. "Shit, sorry."

Isabelle only laughs. "It was bound to happen eventually, don't worry about it." She gets up to start picking them all up, thanking that everything was labeled. "I am sorry Emma, but I know in my heart that Graham wants me as far away from Regina's control as possible."

"So this isn't just because you guessed Gold's name?" Emma wonders out loud, handing her several papers.

"Emma I still haven't guessed his name, but I know that I need to be with him. Graham wanted me to feel safe and I feel safest with him. Until I can go up openly against Regina; I need his help." Emma gives her a blank stare. "No that's not the reason we're together. I love him Emma and have for a hell of a long time."

"You don't think you could go up against her as Sheriff?"

"I'm a violent person by nature Emma. I could get into some serious trouble if I attack her because she pissed me off about something." _'Or at least I would if I were still Isabelle.' _"Graham was always the one who handled Regina. I was simply his shadow and saved his ass when he needed it. I'm not cut out for the job, but I believe that you are."

"There is no way in hell I'm cut out for the job." She protests.

"There's another reason. I think you need the job more than I do." She smiles warmly and puts her hands on Emma's shoulders. "You have a thirst to prove yourself, but you're afraid of failure, so you hide behind this mask. Emma, I know you can do this."

"I'm getting lectured by a woman four years younger than me." She finally sighs. "But you're right, I'm hiding. If you truly think I can do it, then I'll give it my best shot, but just know that if I fail, I'm blaming you."

"I have no doubts." Isabelle laughs, as they finally pick up the last of the papers. "Try not to forget though, that if you ever need help, all you have to do is ask me."

"I'll be sure to let you know if I ever have any problems." She laughs. "But what are we going to do with Regina? You know she won't be happy about me being nominated for Sheriff."

"She won't be, but the worst she can do is nominate one of her own people." She shrugs and goes to sit back down. "I promise to help you with the campaign and with any luck by the end of next week you'll be Sheriff."

"There's a job I never would've thought I'd have." She jokes.

"I never thought I'd be a cop, so I guess we're in the same boat there." Isabelle says, putting the papers back on her desk. "Look, I can handle calls from here if you want to go do a patrol around town for a bit."

"Seeing as it's you last day, don't you want to do that?"

"I'll do the afternoon run." She waves her hands dismissively. "Go ahead and clear your head, it looks like you need it."

She gives her a grateful glance and grabs her car keys off the desk. "Thanks Isabelle, I'll see you in a few hours. If something comes up you know how to reach me."

"Have fun," She calls after her, as she leaves the office and leaves Isabelle alone.

After another hour of working on files Isabelle is finally satisfied that all the paperwork that never got done is finished. Convincing herself that Emma will be able to start fresh tomorrow, with nothing to worry about, she takes out her cell and calls Gold.

"_This is Gold." _She hears him pick up.

Wanting to kick herself for allowing her heart beat to go faster whenever she hears his voice she answers. _"Afternoon Ramsey, sorry to disappoint you, but I finished all the filing here. Starting tomorrow Emma will have a clean slate." _

"_Well damn, and here I thought I could cause some more trouble." _He chuckles. _"Also, I'm afraid Ramsey isn't my name either love."_

"_I'm still not giving up," _She laughs and puts her feet up on the table. Suddenly remembering Graham's old rule, she immediately takes them down. _"So I finally managed to tell Emma the news."_

"_I'm glad, after your call last night I was afraid you weren't going to." _He comments, referring to the night before when she had called him in tears. _"How'd she take it?"_

"_After convincing her that I had my reasons and that I was going to do everything I can to help her; I think she's onboard."_

"_I didn't realize getting her to be Sheriff was part of a plan."_

She shrugs. _"Well, I figure getting Emma as Sheriff will make Regina pissed off and frankly, I'm all for that at this point."_

She hears him sigh and what sounds like him sit down. _"You still blame her for Graham's death then? You do realize there is nothing backing that theory up?"_

"_I don't care about the results from the autopsy, or what people keep telling me. I know she had something to do with it. The two of them break up and not even an hour later he dies? That really doesn't seem strange to you?"_

"_Belle, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just if you talk about your theories with anyone else, you know you are going to sound crazy. The study of his death is closed and the man is buried, for now there is nothing you can do." _He tries convincing her.

'_Not until after the curse breaks.' _She realizes. _'He's right I can try convincing everyone in town, but it won't do any good.' _

"_Belle, are you still there?" _

Shaking her head and trying to get her thoughts back together she nods. _"Yeah, I'm still here. Sorry, as much as I don't like it I know you're right."_

"_I often tend to be in these kinds of situations."_

"_All right I get it." _She laughs at his obvious attempt to cheer her up. _"I'll stop, but that doesn't mean I won't stop thinking about it."_

"_I don't expect you to Belle; I just don't want you getting into trouble over this." _

"_I know, and thanks. Besides, this will be an interesting way of getting back at her, in a different way of course."_

"I do hope that's not a personal call Miss French." Isabelle turns around to see Regina leaning against the door.

She sighs and turns back to her phone. _"Sorry, it seems the b-witch just strolled in. I have to go, but I'll talk to you again later."_ She looks at Regina, _"I love you Mr. Gold."_ To her delight Regina turns away scowling.

"_I love you too Belle, good luck." _He hangs up.

"Seeing as it was my own phone Ma'am, I hardly see the big deal. It's been pretty quiet this morning."

She scoffs and moves to sit down in the chair opposite of her. "Aren't you supposed to be professional Miss French?"

"Ah, you mean with the whole witch thing? Yes, I am aware of what I nearly said, which is why I cleaned it up a bit."

"Oh no, please enlighten me on what you were going to say." She smirks coldly.

"Seeing as we are both well aware of what I was going to say. I hardly feel the need to answer that question." She responds. "Now what are you doing here Regina?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I am nominating Sidney Glass to run against you for Sheriff."

"What you don't believe I'm working for you? I worked for Graham, who worked for you."

"Do you think me a fool Deputy? I know you've never been on my side, and why would you be." She shrugs and stands up. "I just wanted to let you know that I am nominating one of my people to run against you."

"Well that's going to be a bit difficult seeing as I'm not running for Sheriff." She states, also standing up.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not running for Sheriff." She repeats and tosses her a file. Regina opens it and begins skimming. "I've already signed all the paperwork and have put down that I nominate Emma Swan to be the next Sheriff."

"She's worked here hardly a week." She protests and tosses the file back to her.

"Yes, but I believe she has the potential to do well in the position."

Regina purses her lips and decides against arguing with her. "There was a note at the bottom of that saying that you were leaving as well?"

"Yes, today will be my last day working here."

"So you're just going to go back to your old ways?" She asks, sounding disgusted.

"Now why the hell would I do that? Not only would that disappoint Graham, but that would also be breaking my promise to Mr. Gold." She insists, not believing that she could think that, after she's been clean for years.

"Ah yes, Mr. Gold. Odd for you to call him that, you are his girlfriend aren't you?" The anger in her voice was evident. "Shouldn't you call him by his first name?"

Isabelle only shrugs. "If I knew it I would. Frankly, I'm not even sure he knows his own first name."

"You don't know it?" She sounds genuinely surprised.

'_Ah, so that's it.' _She realizes. _'Her majesty thinks true love's kiss would've woken us both up. Well, I suppose technically we have woken up, but she really doesn't need to know that.' _"No I don't, but I assume you do madam Mayor. That is, if he even has a first name?"

She actually laughs. "Of course he has a first name dear, but I assure you, you'll never figure it out."

Isabelle is about to answer when the opening of a door causes the two of them to turn around and see Emma walking inside. "Isabelle I'm sorry, I tried to stop her, but she-oh, hello Regina, what are you doing here?" She asks looking from one to the other. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything Isabelle."

"Not at all Emma, the Mayor was just leaving." Isabelle smiles coldly.

"Yes, of course." Regina makes her way over to the door and stops. "Congratulations on being nominated for Sheriff Ms. Swan." With one last look at the two of them she leaves the office.

"What the hell is with her?" Emma asks moving over to sit in the chair Regina had recently occupied.

"Nothing to worry about," She waves her hands dismissively and sits back down as well. "Now, what is it you need to tell me?"

She groans and leans back in her chair. "I went into Granny's for a cup of hot chocolate and they're throwing you a party tonight at the diner, for all you've done at the station."

"Ruby loves throwing parties for every little thing." Isabelle sighs. "Are you sure you should be telling me all this though?"

She shrugs. "Ruby said you hate surprises and that if I did take you there after work without telling you then you would get mad and go home. This way at least you have no real reason to get mad."

"Damn it Ruby."

"She said that this would be a great way to say goodbye." She insists.

"It's not as if I'm going anywhere." She protests. "I don't understand what the big deal is."

"Granny told me that, so soon after Graham's death, it feels like the town is losing two of their best officers. Actually, a lot of the people who were helping them set up; believe that you're doing this in order to go back to the way you used to be. Ruby tried setting them straight but-"

"That's ridiculous!" Isabelle states angrily standing up and slamming her hands down on her desk. "After everything I've dealt with these past five years working here. I would never go back to the way I was."

"Isabelle, I've been in a…similar situation and I get it." Emma sighs. "Trust me, I know the last thing you want to do is go back to the way you were, but there are always going to be people who judge you for what you did in your past. Nothing can change that, but you can prove to them that the girl they used to know isn't ever going to come back."

She sits back down and leans against the armrest. "You're right, I'm just going to have to live my life and prove to them these past five years have actually changed me." She looks back up to Emma. "I'll go to the party tonight, but I can't guarantee that I'll stay for long."

"After staying up all night, I would expect not." She laughs. "What did the mayor want anyways?"

"She only wanted to tell me that she is nominating Sydney Glass to run against you for Sheriff." She answers, yawning again. "I told her that this was my last day and that I was having you run for Sheriff. We got into an argument about Mr. Gold and then you came in."

"She doesn't like you with him then?"

"Not in the slightest." She grins. _'And with good reasons I suppose.'_

"Well I'm not going to question it, but you must admit you two make an odd pairing." She points out.

"I suppose, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep seeing him." She laughs and gets up. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I think I need to take a drive around town." She grabs her keys and jacket. "If you need anything, you know how to reach me."

"Have fun, and try to stay out of trouble this time." She hears Emma call after her when she left the room. Stopping for a moment she realizes that the last time she went out for a patrol was when Michael tricked her. Shaking that thought out of her head quickly she walks out to her car.

* * *

Isabelle collapses on her bed around 10 the same night after leaving the party at Granny's a short while ago. All in all it was fun she got to dance with Ruby and some of the other girls. She told some stories about the things that went on in the station, excluding the ones that she and Graham promised never to bring up again, and ended the night by jokingly warning Emma about some of the people in there. She feels her eyes drooping in the need for sleep, but the conversation with Ruby right before she left stops her.

"_I'm sorry Ruby, I need to get home." Isabelle runs up to Ruby, who was talking to Billy near the door. "I didn't get much sleep last night and I feel as though I'm going to collapse."_

_She only laughs. "Emma told me about that earlier, don't worry about it Izzy. I know this was last minute and all, but I hope you had fun."_

"_I did thanks, but do you know where Gold was tonight?" She asks curiously._

_Ruby only purses her lips. "I don't know. I called the shop earlier to invite him, but I couldn't get a hold of him. I thought for sure he'd show up though, sorry."_

_She shakes her head. "That's fine I'll call him when I get home."_

"_If you aren't asleep," She jokes. "Are you sure you're okay to drive home?"_

"_Ruby I worked the graveyard shift for two years. I know how to make it home, even when exhausted." She laughs._

_She only nods her head in agreement. "I forgot about that, good point. Anyways, I won't be home tonight and probably won't be until after work tomorrow."_

"_Got it, talk to you later then." She waves and makes her way out of the diner, after saying goodbye to Granny and Emma._

Reaching for her cell phone she calls his house and is surprised when he picks up. _"This is Gold."_

"_Do you always answer your phones like that?" _She asks jokingly.

"_Belle, I would've thought you'd still be at your party."_

"_A party, apparently, you didn't want to go to Rueben. Was it something I did?"_

She hears him sigh. _"That's not my name either Belle. Honestly, where are you coming up with some of these? Anyways, I didn't think it would be appropriate if I showed up to a party that was intended to wish you good luck after you quit."_

"_We were both at the funeral yesterday; I hardly see the big deal that people realize that we are together." _She argues and grudgingly gets off the bed in order to get a glass of water.

"_Yes, but people didn't know that you were quitting your job, hell even Emma didn't know. I didn't want to show up and people start the rumor that the only reason you quit is because I asked you too, or worse, convince you that you aren't cut out for the job." _He points out.

"_I still don't see how that's really a big deal though, most people tonight think I quit because Graham is dead and I want to go back to the troublesome kid I used to be." _She admits and takes a sip from her glass. _"I admit, in my speech yesterday, that I was a troublemaker and everyone suddenly jumps to all kinds of conclusions. Trust me the one involving you would've made me feel better then people thinking I'd actually go back to being…well, that."_

"_I'd rather people think that then have them think ill of you sticking with me." _He retorts.

She sighs. _"Apparently, we have very different views on this."_

"_Clearly."_

"_Why…why are you acting so distant?" _She dares to ask. _"I'm grateful for everything you've done for me these past few days with Graham and everything, but now it's like you don't even want to get close to me."_

He stays silent for a long time. When Isabelle opens her mouth to speak again he interrupts her. _I've…lost someone in the past Belle."_

"_Yes, you said you lost your son."_

"_No, this wasn't my son. It…it was a woman. Thanks to certain…circumstances, we lived together for almost six months and grew into an unlikely pair of friends. We grew…far too close and, I ended up kicking her out."_

"_Do you, do you ever regret it?" _She inquires, almost regretting asking him, as the images of the Queen tormenting him about her dying come to mind.

"_Every damn day," _He admits. _"I'm afraid of seeing her again and her getting angry with me, not that I don't deserve it, but I still don't want to lose her again."_

"_So you're afraid of growing close to anyone in case that ever happens again."_

"_Yes, I suppose the about sums it up." _He groans. _"I'm sorry Belle."_

"_I'm not mad; I was just curious as to why you seem so…off, when talking to me lately."_She tries reassuring him and wanders back into her room. _"I get it, I really do. You just scared of getting close to someone and ruining it again, but you are going to have to do a hell of a lot worse if you're trying to get me to stay away from you." _She jokes, falling back on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

"_That's encouraging to know, though I would advise against it."_

She laughs. _"I'll come by your shop tomorrow to talk some more."_

"_Ah yes, you were up most of the night weren't you?" _He notes. _"As the lady wishes; I will see you tomorrow."_

She can almost imagine him bowing. _"You have the strangest ways of saying a simple goodnight."_

"_Do I, I hadn't noticed."_

"_You're being a pain, so goodnight."_

She hears him laugh. _"Goodnight love."_

"_Oh wait, before you go, what was her name? Your friends'" _She asks, wanting him to say it to confirm her suspicions of him knowing about his past life.

"_Her name was Belle." _He responds sadly and then she hears a familiar click.

'_So he does know,' _she almost smiles, dropping her cell on the bed. _'And he's terrified of being with me as I am now because he thinks that I'm going to be mad at him when I wake up. Rumple, you big dummy, I'm already awake. I'm mad sure, but that doesn't mean I don't still love you.' _She rolls over to look out her window and to the full moon outside. _'I'll tell you tomorrow Rumple, you deserve to know I've woken up.' _She yawns again and without even moving to cover herself with the blankets she falls into a blissful sleep.

* * *

"Good morning Emma." Isabelle smiles, as she walks into the police station the next day. "Though, I suppose being almost noon isn't exactly in the morning."

"Isabelle? What are you doing here, you quit yesterday." Emma asks amused, but stands up to greet her anyways.

"I just wanted to return my keys and uniform, you were the one who insisted I wore it to the party last night." She laughs, handing her the hanger with her uniform.

She takes the hanger, but hands her back the set of keys. "Keep them; you never know when I'll need your help with something."

She clutches them to her chest tightly. "Thank you Emma."

"Of course, won't you have a seat?" She offers and sits back down in her chair.

"Oh no, I just came to say goodbye to the place and give you my things." She insists and looks around fondly. "I actually have somewhere I need to be."

"Have a job interview already then?"

"No, but I don't necessarily need one." She admits sheepishly.

"Oh my God, you guessed his name." Emma stands up again in surprise. "How the hell did you get it so quickly? What is it?"

She shakes her head. "You know I won't tell you what it is, as to how I got it, I'm just lucky I suppose."

"No one's that lucky Isabelle." She crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you sure it's his real name, or is he just saying that it is to get you to work for him?"

"Trust me Emma, I know it's his real name, he wouldn't lie to me about something like this." She laughs. _'After all, who thinks Rumplestiltskin is a name you can guess at random?'_

"So…how did you figure it out?"

"You're going to think this is stupid but I had a dream last night of something that happened in the past." She shrugs. "It turns out he told me his name once when I was little."

Emma laughs at that. "Nice, but are you going to be okay? Not that I don't trust Gold to keep _you _safe, but I always thought it was difficult for couples to work at the same place, especially if one is the owner."

"I think I can handle whatever Mr. Gold throws at me." She waves a hand dismissively. "I think we both know I can take him if it comes down to an argument about something stupid. In the end though, I know he's the man I want to stay with."

Emma lifts her coffee cup in a toast. "I wish you the best of luck then, but if I get a public disturbance call and you two are throwing things at one another, this conversation will be brought up." She warns.

"I have no doubts, talk to you soon Emma." Isabelle waves and makes her way out of the door, back onto the street. _'I've now made my own choice and am not longer a part of Regina's circle…here I come Rumple.' _Taking a deep breath she makes her way down the road to his shop.

* * *

Her hand is hovering over the handle and her nerves are starting to get the best of her. _'What the hell is wrong with me? This bet thing was my idea and furthermore, I know exactly who I am and who I'm about to deal with.' _She's about to push the door open when she stops again. _'Damn it, just walk inside and confront him about knowing who you are. Walk inside and tell him what is actual name is.' _Summoning the last of her nerves she finally pushes the door open to hear the familiar ringing of the bell.

He wasn't at the counter, but a few seconds later he comes out of the back and smiles warmly at her. "Belle, good morning; I didn't expect to see you until later this afternoon, after you said you got no sleep the other night."

She walks quickly over to the counter. "Yes well, you know, after working strange shifts at the station for five years, you tend to get in the habit of sleeping for an odd amount of hours."

"Yes; I suppose you would." He muses.

"Anyways, I wanted to talk to you." She jumps up to take a seat on the counter and crosses her legs.

"Yes I gathered that; I apologize for hanging up on you so abruptly last night, but I don't think continuing on with our conversation would've been a very good idea." He moves to stand in front of her.

"Oh no; I wasn't worried about that, after all I have a pretty good idea about who she is." She grins wickedly. "I had another dream last night and the stories are far too similar to be a coincidence."

"Oh really, and what makes you think that your dreams have anything to do with me?"

"I know that they have everything to do with you." She states. "Just as I'm certain I now know your first name."

"Oh do you now?" He asks. "Please enlighten me."

She opens her mouth to say it, but suddenly decides against it. "Actually I think I may hold on to it a bit longer, you know just to have some more fun?"

He traps her in a type of cage on the counter. "Isabelle," He murmurs her fake name carefully, "Are you aware of what's truly going on around here?"

"I believe I am."

"Am I to assume that the reason you quit your job is because you know where you truly need to be?"

"You may assume that."

"So you interpreted Graham's last words to you?"

"Yes."

"I'll ask you again then dearie, what is my first name?"

She smiles and leans in to kiss him deeply. The kiss lasts several moments and she finally pulls away and smiles widely. "You should not have agreed to play this little game with me, my friend, for Rumplestiltskin is surely your name."

He only smiles.

* * *

**Damn, once again I don't know why it ended up this long and I know it didn't exactly follow the order of things in the show, but it's a fic, it doesn't necessarily have to right? Anyways, I have no plans (as of yet) to a sequel, as I want to put my focus on 'Memories.' (A fic I actually got a lot of plot bunnies for while writing this one, so that makes me happy.)This was a lot of fun to write, though at times was a pain in the ass, but I think it turned out well and hope you enjoyed reading. Actually, i'm more surprised you took the time to read this whole thing. Thank you again and please leave a review if you have time. xD**


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